Culture as Medicine

The Biology of Cultural Beliefs

There’s extensive psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) research on how cognition and emotions affect nervous, immune, and endocrine systems’ regulation. Concomitantly, medical anthropology (MA) studies the cultural factors that influence health and wellbeing. I argue that the convergence of findings from PNI and MA can provide valuable information on how cultural factors can have positive effects on health: Cultural placebo with measurable effects. But before embarking on the convergence of PNI and MA to achieve a better understanding of how culture can be medicine, I will define culture as the collective belief groups share about social, existential, and transcendental conditions. Simply stated; aesthetics, ethics, religion, illness, longevity, wellness and all other significant aspects of life.

Sociocultural Psychoneuroimmunological Enhancers of Health

Studies show that observing or experiencing compassion increases IgA’s which are antibodies responsible for attacking upper respiratory viruses. Nevertheless, the interpretation of compassion differs from individualist (Western) and collectivist (Eastern) cultures. The former focuses on the individual and the latter emphasizes the group. Thus, compassion has a specific PNI response, but the culture determines MA how the emotion that is perceived is interpreted (See…