Neural-Immune Interactions in Brain Function and Alcohol Related Disorders, 2013

Recent studies have provided clear evidence on the role of neural-immune interactions in normal brain function and neuropathological conditions. Neuroimmune factors, which play an essential role in neuroinflammatory response, have been implicated in the regulation of neuronal function and plasticity. Thus, neural-immune interactions provide a new frame work for understanding the role of the neuroimmune system in normal brain function, neurodevelopment, and a variety of neurological disorders.  These advances have a far reaching impact on many areas of neuroscience, including alcohol research.  Studies using human alcoholic brains, gene knockout mice, and gene expression profiling have established a clear link between alcoholism and an altered neuroimmune profile. This book integrates emerging knowledge on neural-immune interactions with key discoveries in alcohol research and provides a comprehensive overview of neural-immune interactions in brain function and behavior associated with alcohol use disorders. While Neural?Immune Interaction in Brain Function and Alcohol Related Disorders focuses on neural-immune interactions in areas directly related to alcohol use disorders, it is not intended to be all inclusive. Several areas, including sleep disorders, pain, and cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathways, are not covered as independent chapters but briefly mentioned in the text. The close relevance of these topics to neural-immune interactions and alcohol use disorders warrants future discussion and more research efforts.

An Introduction to CNS-resident Microglia: Definitions, Assays and Functional Roles in Health and Disease.- Astrocyte-neuron Communications.- Neuroimmune Modulation of Synaptic Function.- Neuroimaging and Clinical Studies on Brain-Immune Interactions.- Mechanisms of Stress-Dependent Neuroinflammation and their Implications for Understanding Consequences of Alcohol Exposure.- Mood Disorders and Immunity.- Neuroimmune Cross Talk and HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders.- Innate Immune Signaling and Alcoholism.- Role of TOLL-Like Receptor 4 in Alcohol-Induced Neuroinflammation and Behavioral Dysfunctions.- Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Impact on Neuroendocrine-Neuroimmune Networks.- Neuroimmune Mechanisms of Glia and Their Interplay with Alcohol Exposure across the Lifespan.- Alcohol-chemokine Interaction and Neurotransmission.- Neuroimmune Genes and Alcohol Drinking Behavior.- Immune Responses in HIV Infection, Alcoholism, and Aging: A Neuroimaging Perspective.- Effects of Morphine and Alcohol on the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal Axis, Immunity, and Cognitive Behavior.- Alcohol Abuse, HIV-1 and Hepatitis C Infection.- Therapeutic Strategies to Treat Alcohol-related Disorders Targeting Central Immune Signaling.- Alcohol and the Neuroimmune Response: Current Status and Future Directions.