How immune signals make the brain cause fatigue and low mood
The cytokine code and neural circuits for sensing inflammation state
The team maps how immune proteins (cytokines) change brain circuits that drive fatigue and low mood to help people with chronic inflammatory conditions like cancer cachexia.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11190791 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
I want to know why long-term inflammation makes me so tired and down, and this project uses mouse models to trace that connection. Researchers will record activity across the whole brain and manipulate specific cell types to see which cytokines act on which neural circuits. They will compare short-term infections with chronic conditions such as cancer cachexia and endometriosis to find differences in circuit responses. The goal is to decode the cytokine signals the brain reads and how those signals change motivation and behavior.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People living with chronic inflammatory conditions—for example cancer cachexia or endometriosis—who experience severe fatigue, loss of motivation, or depression-like symptoms would be most relevant to this work.
Not a fit: People whose fatigue or mood symptoms are due to non-inflammatory causes (purely psychiatric, metabolic, or non-immune-related conditions) may not benefit directly from these findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could identify specific brain-immune signaling pathways that lead to new treatments reducing fatigue and depression in chronic inflammatory illnesses like cancer cachexia.
How similar studies have performed: Previous animal studies have linked cytokines to ‘sickness behavior,’ but mapping specific cytokine-to-circuit ‘codes’ across the whole brain is a novel and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Washington University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kepecs, Adam — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Kepecs, Adam
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.