Abstract
Recently, it has been reported that various stressors affect immune system. Both reduction and enhancement of immune functions have been found in animals exposed to different stressors.
The triadic design has been widely used to examine whether controllability against physical stressors modify immune responses. Maier et al. found the reduction of lymphocyte mitogen response in rats exposed to uncontrollable footshock using the triadic design. However, the reliability of the result failed to be confirmed.
To apply the findings on stress and immunity obtained by animal studies to human, controllability against stressors should be taken into consideration. Further studies to clarify the mechanism of the effects of psychosocial factors on immune system are encouraged.
