stress has been shown to have a negative effect on the immune system in many studies; for example, Kiecolt-Glaser et al (1984) found that exam stress reduced the function of important immune cells; other studies have shown that wounds are slower to heal when people are suffering from stress. Now new research by Rita Effros, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and a member of the Jonsson Cancer Center, Molecular Biology Institute and UCLA AIDS Institute may explain how stress ages the immune system.

Study shows how using mental strategies can alter the brain's reward circuitry The cognitive strategies humans use to regulate emotions can determine both neurological and physiological responses to potential rewards, a team of New York University and Rutgers University neuroscientists has discovered. The findings, reported in the most recent issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience, shed light on how the regulation of emotions may influence decision making.