Which of the following focuses on the links between the mind, brain and immune system?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Psychoneuroimmunology
Option (1) Psychopathology — Incorrect. Psychopathology refers to psychological disorders and their study; a test such as the MMPI is used to identify varieties of psychopathology. It is not about the immune system.
Option (2) Psychoneuroimmunology — Correct. Psychoneuroimmunology focuses on the links between the mind, the brain and the immune system, and studies the effects of stress on the immune system. Its name carries all three parts: psycho (mind), neuro (brain and nerves) and immunology (the immune system).
Option (3) Psychoimmunology — Incorrect. The name joins only the mind and the immune system and leaves out the brain, while the question asks for the field that links all three.
Option (4) Psychoneurology — Incorrect. The name joins the mind and the nervous system and leaves out the immune system, the part the question turns on.
Note 1: The terms in Option (3), ‘psychoimmunology’, and Option (4), ‘psychoneurology’, are not in the NCERT book (2023-24), which NTA followed in 2025, and are not in the NCERT book (2025-26) either; explained here for the benefit of the students.
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 02-06-2023 (Slot 3) and 23-06-2023 (Slot 3), and in CUET (UG) 2026 on 07-06-2026 (Slot 2).
NCERT (2025-26): “Stress and the Immune System … Stress can cause illness by impairing the workings of the immune system. The immune system guards the body against attackers, both from within and outside. Psychoneuroimmunology focuses on the links between the mind, the brain and the immune system. It studies the effects of stress on the immune system.…” |