Deck 3: Psychoneuroimmunology

Question 1

Li has been relaxed and on vacation for 2 weeks.He has had no recent health problems.If Li had his immunocompetence measured at a lab it is likely that the results would indicate

A)a high mitogen count
B)a low white blood cell count
C)a proliferation of NK cell activity
D)decreased NK cell cytotoxic activity
E)increased antibodies to the herpes virus

Answer 1

a low white blood cell count

Question 2

A test in which the proliferation and effectiveness of Natural-Killer cells is measured after they have been exposed to diseased cells is called

A)NK cell lysis
B)NK cell cytotoxic activity assay
C)immunocompetence test
D)viral challenge studies
E)enumerative assay

Answer 2

NK cell cytotoxic activity assay

Question 3

Immune function can not be measured by

A)time taken for wounds to heal
B)number of antibodies which develop in response to vaccinations
C)white blood cell count
D)the number of immune system cells in the spleen or bone marrow
E)enumerative assay

Answer 3

the number of immune system cells in the spleen or bone marrow

Question 4

In an early study by Irwin and his colleagues (1987),which of the following groups demonstrated the poorest immune function

A)wives whose husbands were in good health
B)wives whose husbands were being treated for lung cancer that had spread to other parts of the body
C)wives whose husbands had died from lung cancer up to six months previously
D)husbands whose wives were diagnosed with breast cancer
E)husbands whose wives were dying of breast cancer

Question 5

A study by Cohen and colleagues (1995)attempted to sort out the relative contributions of state and trait-negative affect on the development of colds and flu.The results showed that______________________ was correlated with objectively confirmed symptoms.

A)both state and trait-negative affect
B)only state-negative affect
C)only trait-negative affect
D)neither state nor trait-negative affect
E)state-negative was twice as likely as train negative affect

Question 6

In studying the effect of mood on the immune system,researchers have found that depression ___________________________ for all types of patients,regardless of their age or sex.

A)always occurs when the immune system is compromised
B)always accompanies stress
C)activates the immune system
D)increases mortality risk
E)decreases mortality risk after a heart attack

Question 7

When comparing in vivo tests that measure antibody (Ab)production,high counts in herpes virus studies indicate ________________ while high counts in injection studies indicates ___________________ .

A)immunocompetence;immunosuppression
B)decreased NK cell activity;increased NK cell activity
C)immunosuppression;immunocompetence
D)increased NK cell activity;decreased NK cell activity
E)immunocompetence;immunocompetence

Question 8

Thus far,Spiegel and his colleagues (1998)concluded that the effect of stress on tumour growth is

A)potentiating rather than initiating
B)initiating and potentiating
C)initiating rather than potentiating
D)statistically insignificant
E)clinically insignificant

Question 9

Boscario (1997)studied Vietnam veterans including those who had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)over a 20 year period.He discovered that

A)most Vietnam veterans eventually develop PTSD
B)Female soldiers reported a higher incidence of PTSD
C)Veterans who suffered from PTSD were more likely to suffer from other medical problems
D)Veterans who lack social support are more likely to suffer from PTSD
E)Veterans who developed PTSD were more likely to have sexually transmitted infectious diseases

Question 10

The study of the relationship between psychological states and the functioning of the immune system is called

A)immunocompetence assay
B)enumerative assay
C)psychoneuroimmunology
D)psychological tests of immunity
E)psychosocial immunology

Question 11

Recent studies have hypothesized that the pathway between mood and the immune system may be provided by

A)natural killer cell proliferation
B)interleukin-6
C)B cells
D)suppressor T cells
E)killer T cells

Question 12

The process by which Natural-Killer cells attack and destroy tumour cells is called

A)mitogenic activity
B)enumerative assay
C)cytotoxic assay
D)cell lysis
E)seroconversion

Question 13

A mitogen is a substance that

A)forms after an antigen mutates
B)stimulates immune-cell activity in vitro
C)simulates immune-cell activity in vivo
D)activates natural killer cells
E)simulates antigen activity in vivo

Question 14

Janet has been caring for her husband for the past five years.He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and required considerable care.He died one month ago.Most health psychologists believe that coping with a seriously ill loved one brings on ___________ while coping with their death brings on _______________ .

A)Improved immune function;impaired immune function
B)Stress;negative mood
C)Impaired immune function;improved immune function
D)Negative mood;stress
E)Challenge;stress

Question 15

There is no single accepted measure of immunocompetence at the present time.One reason is that

A)the natural killer cells are very effective but difficult to measure
B)immunosuppression is easier to measure
C)there are individual differences between people in ways of responding to stress
D)ineffective cell measurement tools exist
E)until now there has been very little interest in immunocompetence

Question 16

Lazarus and Folkman (1984)define stress as

A)short term pain for long term gain
B)an aversive condition in which the perceived demands are greater than the ability to cope
C)an increase in Natural Killer cell activity in the presence of physical symptoms
D)immunosuppression in the presence of psychological factors
E)statistically significant increase in immune function associated with physical illness

Question 17

David Spiegel and colleagues (1998)found a relationship between severe adverse life events and cancer growth.One study found that cancer patients who had experienced a family death or job loss were

A)twice as likely to have a relapse
B)five times as likely to have a relapse
C)ten times as likely to have a relapse
D)less likely to have a relapse
E)no different from patients without such major life events

Question 18

Which of the following statements is true regarding short term immune function?

A)acute stressors can temporarily improve function
B)chronic stressors can temporarily improve function
C)expressing emotion can temporarily improve function
D)remains constant over the course of a day
E)responds to psychological variables the same as long term immune function

Question 19

In a hospital study (Glassman and Shapiro,1998)it was determine that depression increased mortality risk for all types of patients,regardless of their age or sex.However,consistent with research,the strongest impact was for patients diagnosed with

A)cancer
B)cardiovascular disease
C)HIV-Aids
D)Hematological disease
E)dementia

Question 20

For people with autoimmune diseases,the hallmark of the immune system which fails is the

A)non-specific immune system
B)specific immune system
C)memory function
D)specificity function
E)tolerance

Question 21

Many people doing PNI research believe that of all the medical conditions brought on or worsened by stress _____________________ is the most common.

A)cancer
B)cardiovascular disease
C)chronic pain
D)upper respiratory infection
E)gastrointestinal illnesses

Question 22

Final exams are a good example of

A)Chronic stressors
B)Acute stressors
C)immunocompetence
D)PTSD
E)immunosuppression

Question 23

Which of the following mechanism has not been implicated in the explanation of why psychological states affect the immune system?

A)the endocrine system
B)the sympathetic nervous system
C)the immune system
D)behaviour
E)the circulatory system

Question 24

There is a large and growing body of evidence to indicate that early childhood experiences

A)have no effect on long term health
B)have a short term effect on health
C)have an effect on health across the lifespan
D)have a statistically significant but not a clinically significant effect on health

Question 25

The case study describing Jack's response to a diagnosis of prostate cancer indicates that Jack will have a better survival rate than Stephen.Psychoneuroimmunology research findings suggest the more favourable outcome based on all but one of the following

A)an optimistic attitude
B)belief in the treatment
C)strong support system
D)avoiding depression
E)Type C personality

Question 26

The study of the relationship between psychological states and the functioning of the immune system best describes:

A)PNI
B)NK cell activity
C)PHA
D)PWM
E)Ab production

Question 27

The importance of drawing a distinction between state and trait affect as illustrated by the Cohen and colleagues study (1995)is the apparent

A)misinterpretation of symptoms by the state-negative group
B)cognitive bias of the state- negative group
C)cognitive bias of the trait-negative group
D)predisposition to developing URI symptoms in the state-negative
E)predisposition to developing URI symptoms in the trait-negative group

Question 28

The empirical link between psychology and health is best provided by research in

A)psychoneuroimmunology
B)positive psychology
C)social psychology
D)clinical psychology
E)cognitive psychology

Question 29

The role of cytokines in the immune response is to increase

A)the body's capacity to produce inflammation
B)the body's capacity to reduce inflammation
C)activity in the HPA axis
D)activity of the sympathetic nervous system
E)cortisol

Question 30

A lab test done to count white blood cells as they exist in the blood stream is called

A)enumerative assay
B)cell lysis
C)stress intrusion test
D)in vitro test of immunocompetence
E)cytotoxic activity assay

Question 31

In psychoneuroimmunology research,the dependent variable typically takes the from of

A)the manipulation of a psychological state
B)the manipulation of a physical state
C)some measure of immunocompetence
D)stress
E)a personality trait

Question 32

Although immunocompetence provides one explanation for increased risk of contracting and dying of cancer,related behavioural phenomena that can affect the experience of cancer include all but one of the following

A)sleeping poorly
B)having less energy
C)not following medical regimens
D)seeking non-medical treatment
E)generally taking care of themselves

Question 33

Which of the following is not a functional test of immunity?

A)NK cell cytotoxic activity assay
B)enumerative assay
C)NK cell lysis
D)counting antigen-specific antibodies
E)counting herpes virus antibodies

Question 34

_______________ increases the body's capacity to produce inflammation,and help heal wounds and fight infection,

A)biological imbedding
B)cortisol
C)cytokines
D)C-reactive protein
E)adrenalin

Question 35

Studies based on the Canadian Community Health Survey has shown that people with PTSD have higher rates of all of the following except:

A)Respiratory disease
B)Cardiovascular disease
C)Chronic pain
D)cancer
E)Type 2 diabetes

Question 36

Mechanisms that link psychological factors to health focus on all but one of the following sources

A)the endocrine system
B)the sympathetic nervous system
C)the immune system
D)behaviour
E)social support system

Question 37

The distinction between states and traits is primarily the ____________ of the characteristics.

A)intensity
B)validity
C)duration
D)categorization
E)emotional component

Question 38

The extent to which an immune system is functioning properly to ward-off micro-organisms best describes

A)viral challenge
B)enumerative assay
C)immunocompetence
D)psychoneuroimmunology
E)cytotoxic activity

Question 39

Current research on the relationship between negative mood and HIV infection indicates that depression affects HIV positive women by

A)Shortening the time to AIDS-related death
B)Increasing T-helper-cell activity
C)Decreasing the Natural Killer cell count
D)increasing T-helper cell count
E)lengthening the time to seek medical intervention

Question 40

In a prospective study of adults over the age of 70 (Penninx et al. ,1998),it was discovered that for men _____________ depression increased the risk of contracting heart disease and dying from it.

A)new
B)chronic
C)state
D)trait
E)manic

Question 41

The development and working of immune cells can be permanently altered by

A)experience via epigenetic processes
B)acute stress but not chronic stress
C)chronic stress but not acute stress
D)NK cell lysis
E)NK cell cytotoxic activity

Question 42

Discuss the methods for measuring immune-system function.

Question 43

Describe the evidence linking depression and heart health.

Question 44

Why should an understanding of psychoneuroimmunology be important to health psychologists?

Question 45

Discuss the study conducted by Cohen and his colleagues (1995)regarding the distinction between state and trait negative affect and the influence on the development of colds and flu.

Question 46

Describe the role of inflammation in linking depression and health.

Question 47

Discuss the evidence for a link between stress and upper respiratory infection.Include a description of a viral challenge study.

Question 48

Discuss the issues of short-term versus long-term effects,and statistical versus clinical significance in measuring immune function.

Question 49

Explain the effect of childhood adversity on adult health and why it is so important.

Question 50

What evidence supports the contention that depression increases the risk of mortality?

Question 51

One immune response that is particularly effected by the early childhood experience of adversity is

A) functional immunity
B)HPA
C)SAM
D)the response to vaccinations
E)the production and regulation of inflammation

Question 52

Discuss the biological mechanisms linking psychological states and immune function.

Question 53

Mary has just received the news that she has breast cancer.What factors in Mary's response to the news would be associated with a more favourable outcome?

Question 54

What is the difference between in vitro and in vivo functional tests of immunocompetence.Provide an example of each..

Question 55

Research indicates that people exposed to stress in early childhood such as poverty or abuse ore more likely to develop ___________________________ in adulthood.

A)cardiovascular disease,cancer and autoimmune disorders
B)upper respiratory tract infections
C)depression
D)HIV/AIDS
E)diabetes,cardiovascular disease and cancer

Question 56

The process in which experience has permanent effects on the expression of our genetic coding and subsequently on biological processes is called

A)functional immunity
B)immunocompetence
C)psychoneuroimmunology
D)biological imbedding
E)non-functional immunity

Question 57

Discuss the effects of depression on immune functioning.

Question 58

Discuss the effects of stress on the initiation and potentiation of cancerous tumours.

Question 59

Under stress the substance released by the adrenal cortex when stimulated by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system are called

A)immunogens
B)interleukins
C)antigens
D)tropic hormones
E)cortisol

Question 60

Paramjit has experienced significant psychological trauma recently and his HPA axis is chronically activated.This means that Paramjit is

A)likely producing more cortisol
B)likely producing less cytocines
C)experiencing cardiovascular distress
D)less likely to catch a cold
E)likely a Type A personality

Question 61

Describe the Biological Embedding of Childhood Adversity Model.