In <369E2F6B.B881BD32 at ix.netcom.com> Richard (i.e., Peter) Sargent
<dsargent at ix.netcom.com> writes:
>> I have been a regular poster (frequent) in this newsgroup for the
past
>few days. The main reason for this phenomenon is not that I want to
'jump
>into neuroscience' as Dr. LeFever puts it, but I have been ill with
the
>malady called 'pneumonia' for about a week now. Having this dreadful
>illness prevents me from doing much. Among other things, I cannot:go
>outside in the cold,
>do much strenuous work
>> My mind has been mostly unaffected [obviously, an ailing person is
>naturally more irritable] with the negative effects of this sickness
as I
>still have a clear head (stuffy nose, but I am pretty clear in mental
>faculty).
- - - - - -(snip) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That may be, but there is a literature on cognitive effects of both
viral and bacterial infections. One mechanism seems to be upregulation
of IL-1 in the brain, which can have direct antagonistic effects on
some neural activities, and may even impair function by agonistic
effects (e.g. by stress-like neurotransmitter depletion of some frontal
areas which are activated by stress or by IL-1).
F. Frank LeFever, Ph.D.
New York Neuropsychology Group