Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System

About this video

Huberman discusses using the nervous system to enhance the immune system, noting that dozens if not hundreds of peer-reviewed studies now support nervous control of immune activation. He highlights a paper in Nature from Qiufu Ma’s lab at Harvard Medical School, as he describes it, in which stimulating particular body sites through acupuncture liberated cells and molecules enhancing immune function, with a pathway from fascia, the tissue surrounding muscles, to the adrenal medulla producing potent anti-inflammatory effects. Huberman then explains sickness responses: as inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor increase in circulation and signal through the choroid tissue in the brain’s ventricles, memory and cognition worsen and people feel unable to engage with anything. He flips the equation to ask what people can actively do at the first signs of illness and during illness, beyond hydration and sleep, to deploy a more robust immune response and accelerate healing.

Key takeaways

• Huberman describes nervous system pathways as capable of activating and controlling immune responses.
• Huberman reviews acupuncture research linking fascia stimulation to anti-inflammatory adrenal pathways.
• Huberman explains inflammatory cytokines signalling to the brain produce sickness behaviour and poor cognition.
• Huberman distinguishes fast and slower pathways by which infection affects the brain.
• Huberman presents sleep as a tool for enhancing immune function during illness.

Episode details: published November 1, 2021 · 703.7K views · 2:00:32 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The science and protocols described are Andrew Huberman’s, presented for education — not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your own health practices.

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