Workshop Key Concepts in Neuroimmunology, A dialogue between Philosophers and Scientists (Bordeaux)

Plenary speaker:

Robert Dantzer (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA), “Theories and concepts in psychoneuroimmunology: what is at stake?”

 

Program:

9:00-9:15         Welcome by Sophie Layé & Thomas Pradeu

9:15-11:50       Morning session: To get a picture; chairs Thomas Pradeu & Maël Lemoine

9:15-9:35           How and why neuroimmunology and psychoneuroimmunology came to be and gave rise to neuroinflammation and immunopsychiatry

Jan Pieter Konsman, INCIA, UMR CNRS 5287, University of Bordeaux, France

9:35-9:45           Questions and discussion

 

9h45-10h30       Theories and concepts in psychoneuroimmunology: what is at stake?

Robert Dantzer, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

10:30-10:50       Questions and discussion

 

10:50-11:20       Coffee break

 

11:20-11:40       Which cells are the immune cells of the brain?

Agnès Nadjar, NutriNeuro, UMR INRA 1286, University of Bordeaux, France

11:40-11:50       Questions and discussion

 

11:50-13:30:      Lunch break

 

13:30-15:30     Afternoon session 1: The basic goodies; chairs Sophie Layé & Klaus Petry

13:30-13:50       Integrating the Nervous System, the Immune System, and the Microbiota: How and Why?

Lynn Chiu, ImmunoConcept, UMR CNRS 5164, University of Bordeaux, France

13:50-14:00       Questions and discussion

 

14:00-14:20       The blood-brain barrier: barrier or customs border?

Jérôme Badaut, INCIA, UMR CNRS 5287, University of Bordeaux, France

14:20-14:30       Questions and discussion

 

14:30-15:00       Coffee break

 

15:00-16:30     Afternoon session 2: Going awry; chairs Thomas Pradeu & Jean-François Moreau

15:00-15:20       Cognitive functions and inflammation in multiple sclerosis: mechanisms and concepts

Bruno Brochet, Neurocentre Magendie, UMR INSERM U1215, University of Bordeaux, France

15:20-15:30       Questions and discussion

 

15:30-15:50       Importance of barriers in multiple sclerosis

Nathalie Schmitt, ImmunoConcept, UMR CNRS 5164, University of Bordeaux, France

15:50-16:00       Questions and discussion

 

16:00-16:20       Autoimmunity and brain functions: when autoantibodies meet the synapse!

Laurent Groc, IINS, UMR CNRS 5297, University of Bordeaux, France

16:20-16:30       Questions and discussion

 

16:30-17:00     Conclusions, by Cédric Brun and Maël Lemoine

 

 

Chairs and commentators:

Cédric Brun (Philosophy Department, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, Bordeaux, France)

Sophie Layé (NutriNeuro, UMR INRA/UB 1286, Bordeaux, France)

Maël Lemoine (ImmunoConcept, UMR CNRS/UB 5164, Bordeaux, France)

Jean-François Moreau (ImmunoConcept, UMR CNRS/UB 5164, Bordeaux, France)

Thomas Pradeu (ImmunoConcept, UMR CNRS/UB 5164, Bordeaux, France)

 

Organizing committee:

Jan Pieter Konsman (INCIA, UMR CNRS/UB 5287, Bordeaux, France)

Agnès Nadjar (NutriNeuro, UMR INRA/UB 1286, Bordeaux, France)

Thomas Pradeu (ImmunoConcept, UMR CNRS/UB 5164, Bordeaux, France)

Sophie Layé (NutriNeuro, UMR INRA/UB 1286, Bordeaux, France)

 

> This workshop is supported by Thomas Pradeu’s ERC Starting Grant IDEM, PhilInBioMed, and ImmunoConcept.

 

The questions raised by this workshop will include:

What is the benefit for biology and medicine to think in terms of (psycho)neuroimmunology in comparison with its constituting disciplines, namely immunology, neurobiology, and psychology?

At what level(s) of analysis (organism, organ, cell, and molecule) are neuroimmunology and psychoneuroimmunology most powerful in explaining health and disease?

What does it mean for the central nervous system to be immune-privileged and can other nervous systems or organs be qualified in the same way?

How important are biological barriers (blood-brain barrier, gut barrier, etc.) and biological compartments (brain parenchyma, meninges, gut lumen, peritoneal cavity) in constraining or favoring neuroimmune interactions?

Does neuroimmunology account better for the organism’s capacity to maintain its integrity than neuroscience and immunology?

What are the implications and what can be the impact of some (psycho)neuroimmunological research findings for other fields of biology and medicine, and more generally for philosophical and social issues?

 

 

Contacts: jan-pieter.konsman@u-bordeaux.fr, agnes.nadjar@u-bordeaux.fr, sophie.laye@inra.fr, thomas.pradeu@u-bordeaux.fr