Introduction and Perspectives This volume is based on the proceedings of the 7th annual symposium on the topic Neuroimmune Circuits, Infectious Diseases and Drugs of Abuse, Bethesda, Maryland, Oc- ber 79, 1999. This symposium, as in the past, focused on newer knowledge concerning the relationship between the immune and nervous systems with regards to the effects of drugs of abuse and infections, including AIDS, caused by the immunodeficiency virus. Presentations discussed the brain-immune axis from the viewpoint of drugs of abuse rather than from the subject of the brain or immunity alone. The major aim of this series of conferences has been to clarify the consequences of immunomodulation induced by drugs of abuse in regards to susceptibility and pathogenesis of infectious diseases, both in man and in various animal model systems. The recreational use of drugs of abuse such as morphine, cocaine, and marijuana by large numbers of individuals in this country and around the world has continued to arouse serious concerns about the consequences of use of such drugs, especially on the normal physiological responses of an individual, including immune responses. Much of the recent data accumulated by investigators show that drugs of abuse, especially opioids and cannabinoids, markedly alter immune responses in human populations as well as in experimental animals, both in vivo and in vitro.

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Targeting the Brain's Immune System: A Psychopharmacological Approach to Central Nervous System Infections.- Model Systems for Assessing Cognitive Function: Implications for HIV-1 Infection and Drugs of Abuse.- Direct and Indirect Mechanisms of HIV-1 Neuropathogenesis in the Human Central Nervous System.- Chemokine Receptors on Brain Endothelia - Keys to HIV-1 Neuroinvasion?.- Neurotrophic Factor Regulation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Replication in Human Blood-derived Macrophages Through Modulation of Coreceptor Expression.- Direct vs. Indirect Modulation of Complex IN VITRO Human Retroviral Infections by Morphine.- Genetic Factors Involved in Central Nervous System/Immune Interactions.- Interactions of Opioid Receptors, Chemokines, and Chemokine Receptors.- Crosstalk Between Chemokine and Opioid Receptors Results in Downmodulation of Cell Migration.- Morphine Upregulates Kappa-opioid Receptors of Human Lymphocytes.- Effects of Morphine on T-cell Recirculation in Rhesus Monkeys.- Mitogen - Induced Activation of Mouse T Cells Increases Kappa Opioid Receptor Expression.- Self-enhancement of Phagocytosis by Murine Resident Peritoneal Macrophages and its Relationship to Morphine Effects on the Process.- Role of Mu-opioid Receptor in Immune Function.- Opiates Promote T Cell Apoptosis Through JNK and Caspase Pathway.- Role of Beta-endorphin in the Modulation of Immune Responses: Perspectives in Autoimmune Diseases.- Modulation of Fas/Fasl in a Murine Retroviral Infection by AZT and Methionine Enkephalin.- Acute Effects of Heroin on the Cellularity of the Spleen and the Apoptosis of Splenic Leukocytes.- Alteration of Early T Cell Development by Opioid and Superantigen Stimulation.- Effect of Opioids on Oral Salmonella Infection and Immune Function.- AlteredT-cell Responsiveness in Morphine Tolerant Rats: Evidence for a Potential Role of the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus.- Actions of Endotoxin and Morphine.- Pharmaconeuroimmunology in the Intestinal Tract: Opioid and Cannabinoid Receptors, Enteric Neurons and Mucosal Defense.- Cannabinoid-mediated Inhibition of Inducible Nitric Oxide Production by Rat Microglial Cells: Evidence for CB1 Receptor Participation.- Modulation of CB1 mRNA upon Activation of Murine Splenocytes.- Downregulation of Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2) Messenger RNA Expression During In Vitro Stimulation of Murine Splenocytes with Lipopolysaccharide.- CB1 and CB2 Receptor mRNA Expression in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) from Various Donor Types.- Effect of Cocaine on Chemokine and CCR- 5 Gene Expression by Mononuclear Cells from Normal Donors and HIV-1 Infected Patients.- Intravenous Cocaine Abuse: A Rodent Model for Potential Interactions with HIV Proteins.- Substance P Receptor Mediated Macrophage Responses.- Lymphocyte Modulation by Seven Transmembrane Receptors: A Brief Review of Session 1.- Neuroaids: Retroviral Pathology and Drugs of Abuse.- The Effects of Drugs and Neuropeptides on Immunomodulation and Opportunistic Infection: Summary of Symposium 2.