ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2021
Parasympathetic neural activity and the reciprocal regulation of innate antiviral and inflammatory genes in the human immune system.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hepatic neurons and metabolically induced liver dysfunction.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Developmental origins of immune function: Maternal prenatal mood is associated with infant immune cell gene expression.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- The Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis-Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus Neural Circuit Regulates Neuropathic Pain Through the Brain-Spleen Axis.Neuroscience bulletin · 2025Article
- Parasympathetic nervous activity and CTRA gene expression among healthy young adults in Japan.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Positive social relations, loneliness, and immune system gene regulation.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
- A consultation model integrating psychoanalysis and psychophysiology in oncology.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Heart Rate Variability: A Psychophysiological Factor Related to Both Regular Physical Activity and Eudaimonic Well-Being Among Young Adults.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Using heart rate variability to evaluate the association between the autonomic nervous system and coagulation function in patients with endometrial cancer.Oncology letters · 2024Article
- Neurophysiological Basis of Electroacupuncture Stimulation in the Treatment of Cardiovascular-Related Diseases: Vagal Interoceptive Loops.Brain and behavior · 2024Review
- The beneficial effects of social support and prosocial behavior on immunity and health: A psychoneuroimmunology perspective.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Impact of Non-Pharmacological Interventions on the Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Hold Breath: Autonomic Neural Regulation of Innate Immunity to Defend Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The vagus nerve mediates parasympathetic nervous system control of peripheral physiological processes including cardiovascular activity and immune response. In mice, tonic vagal activation down-regulates inflammation via nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated inhibition of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB in monocyte/macrophages. Because Type I interferon and pro-inflammatory genes are regulated reciprocally at the level of transcription factor activation and cell differentiation, we hypothesized that vagal activity would up-regulate Type I interferon response genes concurrently with inflammatory downregulation in human immune cells. We mapped empirical individual differences in the circulating leukocyte transcriptome and vagal activity indexed by high frequency (0.15-0.40 Hz) heart rate variability (HF-HRV) in 380 participants in the Midlife in the US study. Here we show that promoter-based bioinformatics analyses linked greater HF-HRV to reduced NF-κB activity and increased activity of IRF transcription factors involved in Type I interferon response (independent of β-antagonists, BMI, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and demographic factors). Transcript origin analyses implicated myeloid lineage immune cells as targets, representing per-cell alterations in gene transcription as HF-HRV was not associated with differential prevalence of leukocyte subsets. These findings support the concept of parasympathetic inhibition of pro-inflammatory gene expression in humans and up-regulation of Type I interferons that could augment host defense against viral infections.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.