Inflammation in the Brain and the Body: A Mind-Body Hypothesis

Despite the wealth of evidence showing that psychological conditions can affect physical health—for example, the impact of stress on blood pressure—it is not uncommon, even now, for disorders of the mind and body to be viewed and treated independently of one another. But what if the same inflammatory processes that are responsible for heart failure, diabetes, renal failure, allergies, and many other medical conditions were the root cause of most major psychiatric disorders? This is the premise of this paradigm-shifting new book, which proposes approaching mental illnesses as disorders of the whole body, not just the brain. It reviews the extensive emerging evidence that inflammation contributes to the pathophysiology of not only medical disorders but also mood, anxiety, psychotic, cognitive, and trauma-related conditions. Using major depressive disorder as the case example, this volume integrates information from different fields as it examines: • How multiple sources of inflammation—including the gut microbiome, early and chronic stress, lifestyle, and social determinants of health—affect the body and the brain • Strategies for incorporating a whole-body disorder model into psychiatric, medical, and lifestyle patient assessments • Interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, lifestyle changes, stress management, and quality nutrition By pursuing new research avenues to illustrate the bidirectional nature between medical and mental disorders, Inflammation in the Brain and the Body: A Mind-Body Hypothesis expands the universe of treatment options for both types of disorders, providing multiple augmentation treatment strategies.