Nostalgia: the similarities between immunological and neurological memory
Lawrence Steinman
Article first published online: 21 JUN 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.2012.01139.x
? 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S
Immunological Reviews
Special Issue: Neuroimmunology
Volume 248, Issue 1, pages 5?9, July 2012
This article introduces a series of reviews covering Neuroimmunology appearing in Volume 248 of Immunological Reviews
The components of this volume of Immunological Reviews are devoted to the subject of neuroimmunology. In this preface, I reflect on the concept of memory, a function that is critical for both the immune system and the nervous system. The nervous and immune systems are tuned to react to external stimuli, and both are imbued with the profound capacity to recall earlier events, what we term as memory. It is memory for past antigens that allows the immune system to respond effectively to microbial challenges through neutralization of most microbes before they can cause harm. Diseases of memory are associated with some profound clinical pathology in both the immune system and nervous system. Some of these syndromes have conceptual similarities, so here I compare diseases involving mistaken identity, and those involving retrograde amnesia. Such disorders are encountered in human immune biology and neurology...
