Rewarding stimulation boosts immune system

Experiment in mice may help explain placebos’ power

Immune cells

TWO TALES  Immune cells taken from mice that had their brains’ reward systems activated (right) killed more E. coli than immune cells taken from control mice (left).   

T.L. Ben-Shaanan et al/Nature Medicine 2016

Feeling good may help the body fight germs, experiments on mice suggest.