Behavioral Neuroimmunology: Immune Modulation of Brain and Behavior

This course will focus on the role of the immune system in brain function and behavior, both during homeostasis and in disease states. Topics will include developmental roles for immune cells and molecules, immune response to brain infection and trauma, inflammation in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, and the gut-brain axis. Emphasis will be placed on microglia -- the resident immune cells of the brain -- as well as on the influence of factors such as experience and biological sex on brain-immune interactions.