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The Heart as a Psychoneuroendocrine and Immunoregulatory Organ

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Sex-Specific Analysis of Cardiovascular Function

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1065))

Abstract

The heart can be viewed not just as muscle pump but also as an important checkpoint for a complex network of nervous, endocrine, and immune signals. The heart is able to process neurological signals independently from the brain and to crosstalk with the endocrine and immune systems. The heart communicates with the psyche through the neuro-endocrine-immune system in a highly integrated way, in order to maintain the homeostasis of the whole body with peculiarities specific to males and females.

The heart as a multi-regulatory system. Artwork by Piet Michiels, Leuven, Belgium

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Carlo Dal Lin & Francesco Tona

  2. Laboratory of Translational Nutrition Biology, Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ETHZ, Zurich, Switzerland

    Elena Osto

  3. Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich and University Heart Center, Cardiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Elena Osto

Authors
  1. Carlo Dal Lin
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  2. Francesco Tona
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  3. Elena Osto
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Correspondence to Elena Osto .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Peter L. M. Kerkhof

  2. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Virginia M. Miller

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Dal Lin, C., Tona, F., Osto, E. (2018). The Heart as a Psychoneuroendocrine and Immunoregulatory Organ. In: Kerkhof, P., Miller, V. (eds) Sex-Specific Analysis of Cardiovascular Function. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1065. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77932-4_15

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