Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1786–1788Cite as

Sickness Behavior

  • Reference work entry

Synonyms

Cytokine-induced depression; Inflammation-associated depression

Definition

Sickness behavior is a coordinated set of adaptive behavioral changes that occur in physically ill animals and humans during the course of infection. These behaviors include lethargy, depressed mood, reduced social exploration, loss of appetite, sleepiness, hyperalgesia, and, at times, confusion. This set of behaviors often accompanies fever and is considered a motivational state responsible for reorganizing an ill individual’s perceptions and actions to enable better coping with infection (Dantzer, O’Connor, Freund, Johnson, & Kelley, 2008).

Description

Sickness behavior is a normal response to infection and is characterized by endocrine, autonomic, and behavioral changes triggered by soluble proteins produced at the site of infection. Activated immune cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, release biochemical mediators called pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   1,199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References and Readings

  • Bluthe, R. M., Dantzer, R., & Kelley, K. W. (1992). Effects of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist on the behavioral effects of lipopolysaccharide in rat. Brain Research, 573, 318–320.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dantzer, R., Bluthe, R. M., Castanon, N., Kelley, K. W., Konsman, J. P., Laye, S., et al. (2007). Cytokines, sickness behavior, and depression. In R. Ader (Ed.), Psychoneuroimmunology (4th ed., pp. 281–318). New York: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dantzer, R., O’Connor, J. C., Freund, G. G., Johnson, R. W., & Kelley, K. W. (2008). From inflammation to sickness and depression: When the immune system subjugates the brain. Nature Neuroscience Reviews, 9, 46–56.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DellaGioia, N., & Hannestad, J. (2010). A critical review of human endotoxin administration as an experimental paradigm of depression. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 34, 130–143.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger, N. I., Berkman, E. T., Inagaki, T. K., Rameson, L. T., Mashal, N. M., & Irwin, M. R. (2010). Inflammation-induced anhedonia: Endotoxin reduces ventral striatum responses to reward. Biological Psychiatry, 15, 748–754.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, A. H., Maletic, V., & Raison, C. L. (2009). Inflammation and its discontents: The role of cytokines in the pathophysiology of major depression. Biological Psychiatry, 65, 732–741.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raison, C. L., Capuron, L., & Miller, A. H. (2006). Cytokines sing the blues: Inflammation and pathogenesis of depression. Trends in Immunology, 27, 24–31.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. S. (1991). The macrophage theory of depression. Medical Hypotheses, 35, 298–306.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health and Community, University of California, 3333 California St., Suite 465, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA

    Dr. Aric A. Prather

Authors
  1. Dr. Aric A. Prather
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aric A. Prather .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Prather, A.A. (2013). Sickness Behavior. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_837

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_837

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation