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Immune system cognition

In: The Atlas of Social Complexity

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Abstract

This chapter explores how the immune system, just like bacteria and cells, is cognitive. The founding principal of immunology is the concept of ‘identity’ and the capacity of immune systems to distinguish between self and non-self. While the immune system functions at a different level of consciousness than our brain-based self, it is nonetheless continually engaged in a complex set of cognitive processes that are in constant communication with our body’s various cognitive systems and agents, including the microbiota-gut-brain axis. In this chapter, after a brief introduction to the immune system, we explore the leading-edge view of immunity that not only resonates with the research elsewhere in Theme 2 but is also fundamentally reshaping our understanding of the immune system’s complex relationship with its environment and how this relationship can be harnessed to treat disease and infection more effectively. This approach is called ecoimmunology.

Suggested Citation

  • ., 2024. "Immune system cognition," Chapters, in: The Atlas of Social Complexity, chapter 8, pages 80-90, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:elg:eechap:19387_8
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    File URL: https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781789909524.00012
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