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Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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The Immunological Mind

Authors: Brănescu, Gabriel;

The Immunological Mind

Abstract

The Immunological Mind proposes that the human mind is not an independent invention but an evolutionary continuation of the immune system’s logic. Recognition, memory, and trust – traditionally treated as cognitive functions – first emerged as biological strategies of survival: distinguishing self from other, encoding past encounters, and maintaining tolerance toward the familiar. Drawing on current neuroimmunology, cognitive science, and philosophy of biology, the paper argues that cognition operates as a meta‑immune system: a symbolic defense of coherence rather than of tissue. DNA damage and repair in both neurons and lymphocytes illustrate a shared mechanism of learning through controlled injury and repair. Immune tolerance mirrors psychological forgetting and emotional regulation. The same molecules – cytokines, complement proteins, and NAD⁺ – link inflammation, mood, and memory, blurring the line between mind and body. Bridging neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and philosophy, the work reframes memory as repair, perception as recognition, and reasoning as tolerance. It suggests that cognition, society, and culture are recursive expressions of one ancient grammar: the logic of survival through selective openness.

Keywords

Cognitive science, Predictive coding, Cognitive immunology, Synaptic pruning, Free‑energy principle, Neuroimmunology, Cultural memory, DNA repair, Social immunity, Immunological tolerance, Cytokines and mood, Immunological mind, DNA double‑strand breaks, NAD+ metabolism, Topoisomerase IIβ (TOP2B), Autoimmunity and mental health, Somatic hypermutation (AID), Recognition and representation, Microglia, Memory consolidation

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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