OSU News Research Archive Search an archive of past research stories. Coverage of OSU Research Reports on national news coverage of university research. Reporting on Cancer A reporter's guide to the disease. Science Communications Staff Who we are and what we do.     (Last updated 6/26/01) Previous stories pertaining to Professor Sheridan's research: "Stress Levels Can Affect Success Of Pneumonia Vaccinations," 12/8/00. "Stress Slows Healing of Dental Wounds by 40 Percent," 6/17/98. "Social Stress Causes Dormant Herpes Virus To Resurface In Mice," 7/30/98.

OSU PROFESSOR PLAYS KEY ROLE IN MIND-BODY NETWORK GROUP COLUMBUS, Ohio - A decade's worth of research has brought scientists closer to understanding how our attitudes control our physical health. John Sheridan A team of 12 researchers and physicians from institutions including Ohio State University participated in the MacArthur Foundation's Network on Mind-Body Interactions. The group looked at how psychological states affect health. "We have made significant progress in the last decade in understanding how the brain informs the body and how the body informs the brain," said John Sheridan, a professor of oral biology and molecular virology/immunology at Ohio State University and a network participant. The network was established in order to look at the mechanisms by which the mind and the body communicate." "There's something about the stress response that reactivates the latent virus," Sheridan said." The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports networks - or teams of scientists from a variety of disciplines - that address different social and health issues, such as drug abuse and violence. The mind-body network culminated earlier this year with the MacArthur Research Network on Mind-Body Interactions conference in Bethesda, Md. Each network can convene for a maximum of 10 years, and is required to either present or publish their findings. The mind-body network found that individuals with an extensive social network seem to be better able to weather illness than their socially isolated counterparts. In other words, social support is very important in maintaining health, as socially isolated individuals are more likely to get sick and also have a tougher time overcoming an illness, Sheridan said. "People with little social support are more likely to develop a cold when challenged with an infectious virus," he said. "Stress influences the immune system, making a person susceptible to infections." The effects of social interactions reach even the molecular level. "We've taken the effects of social interactions to the level of gene expression in our animal models," he said. "We have shown how specific social interactions influence the expression of individual genes." In separate research, Sheridan found that stress reactivates an otherwise latent herpes simplex virus in some college students during exam time. "There's something about the stress response that reactivates the latent virus," he said. The group also reported that sleep deprivation takes a serious toll on the immune system. Researchers deprived about two dozen people of sleep, and vaccinated half of them during the sleep deprivation period. The other half was vaccinated after paying back their sleep debt. "The people vaccinated during sleep deprivation made half the amount of antibody than did those who were allowed to sleep off the debt," Sheridan said. "Chronically stressed people respond less well to vaccination." The National Institutes of Health co-sponsored the MacArthur Mind-Body Network conference. # Contact: John Sheridan, 614- 292-2012; Sheridan.1@osu.edu Written by Holly Wagner, 614-292-8310; Wagner.235@osu.edu