Viruses, Immunity and Mental Disorder

Abstract

Are viruses the cause of mental illness, or does stress or mental disorder produce impaired immunity, with increased susceptibility to infection? These two separate but not unrelated questions have been debated periodically and there has been much renewed interest recently, with increased sophistication in immunology and widespread topical concern about immunodeficiency. The neuropsychiatry of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (Snider et al, 1983; Carne & Adler, 1986; Wortis, 1986; Burton, 1987; Fenton, 1987) and the validity of a ‘post-viral fatigue syndrome’ as a clinical entity (Behan, 1983; Southern & Oldstone, 1986; Dawson, 1987; David et al, 1988) are not discussed here, but have been dealt with in the editorials and reviews cited.