Introduction and Perspectives This volume represents the Proceedings of the Fifth Annual
Symposium on Drugs of Abuse Immunomodulation and AIDS. The meeting was held in Nashville
Tennessee June 12-14 1997. In this symposium as in the past newer knowledge was reviewed
concerning the relationship between the immune and the nervous systems with regard to the
effects of drugs of abuse. This symposium focused on the relationship between the immune system
and the nervous system with regard to the effects of drugs of abuse and infections such as the
immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. As in the past symposia presentations fo cused on the
brain-immune axis from the viewpoint of drugs of abuse rather than from the subject of the
brain or immunity alone. The aim of this series of conferences has been to clarify the
consequences ofimmunomodulation induced by drugs of abuse on susceptibility and pathogenesis of
infectious diseases both in man and in various animal model systems. Recreational use of drugs
of abuse such as morphine cocaine and marijuana as well as alcohol by large numbers of
individuals in this country and around the world has aroused serious concerns about the
consequences of use of such drugs especially on the normal physiological responses of an
individual including immune mechanisms. It is now widely known that many drugs of abuse
including marijuana are used by millions ofindi viduals in this country and by even more
abroad.
