Neuroimmunology and synaptic function

This Special Issue of Neuropharmacology is devoted to specific aspects of neuroimmunology and synaptic function. It contains 12 invited reviews from eminent scientists from all around the globe. These distinguished experts in the field of neuroimmunology and neuroscience provide exciting reviews on a range of topics, which include pro-inflammatory cytokines, cannabinoids, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases. These articles demonstrate that there is a diverse impact of the immune system in synaptic function. Whilst it has been many years since it was first recognized that the immune and central nervous system communicate, it has only been in the last 20 years or so that detailed knowledge has begun to appear about this interaction. Neurons and glia and indeed other cell types are involved in many neuro-modulatory cross talk mechanisms. For example cytokines can modulate both directly and indirectly neuronal activity in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. We also now know that cells in the large and small intestine can directly communicate with many peripheral and central neurons and glial cells. Indeed research into how immune molecules modulate synaptic function could be considered a relatively new field of scientific investigation.