Fundamentals of Psycho-Neuro-Endocrino-Immunology (PNEI) and Epigenetics

URBE UNIVERSITY

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

PNEI is defined as a systemic paradigm based on molecular science: it studies the human organism through a non-reductionist approach, relying on molecular biology, and addresses the bidirectional relationships between the psyche and biological systems. What occurs in the psychic dimension —cognitive, emotional, and relational— influences the immune, endocrine, and nervous systems, and what occurs within those systems in turn influences emotions and cognitive activity. Three 20th-century scientific revolutions converge within it: stress endocrinology, immunology from the 1950s onward, and neuroscience since the 1980s.

Alongside PNEI, the program incorporates epigenetics as its second pillar. If PNEI explains how the psyche and biological systems converse, epigenetics explains the mechanism through which that dialogue leaves its mark: how the environment we live in, what we eat, how we move, the stress we sustain, and the relationships we maintain regulate gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. Both disciplines are two sides of the same ongoing revolution in life sciences, together dismantling the genetic determinism with which many participants enter the course.

This training is the gateway to the discipline. Using clear and accessible language while maintaining scientific rigor, participants navigate through the different levels of what constitutes human life and understand how systems—previously studied in isolation—dialogue with one another. The journey begins not with anatomy, but with a paradigm shift, so that every subsequent system studied carries a meaningful purpose.

The program relies on two key assets unavailable in other training programs. The first is the reference manual, Fundamentals of Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology, by Francesco and Anna Giulia Bottaccioli, published by Isora Neurociencia Editions. The second consists of recorded lectures by both authors, translated into Spanish, forming the asynchronous core of the course: participants receive the paradigm directly from the founder of the Italian Society of Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology.

There is a specific challenge this program explicitly addresses. Understanding a systemic paradigm does not mean merely adding information to existing knowledge, but revising the framework through which that information is received. Therefore, the live portion of the course incorporates elements of "El Observador Sistémico®" (The Systemic Observer) methodology, developed by Isora Neurociencia Business School®: prior and parallel work alongside content delivery that addresses internal and relational conditions necessary for learning, sustaining a key question throughout the journey: what in my current way of observing prevents me from seeing, integrating, or creating something new?

Upon completing the training, participants will have acquired the following competencies:

Conceptual competencies: Understanding the PNEI paradigm and the critique of medical and psychological reductionism; epigenetic mechanisms regulating gene expression—DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA—and the relationship between stress, inflammation, nutrition, and disease.
Practical competencies: Ability to analyze a case from a systemic perspective, identifying emotional, environmental, and lifestyle factors modulating health, and recognizing within a specific pathology the complete circuit connecting psyche, nervous system, immunity, and inflammation.
Attitudinal competencies: An integrative, non-reductionist view of the individual, willingness to recognize and review one's own interpretive frameworks, a critical attitude distinguishing scientific evidence from pseudo-scientific claims, and openness to collaborative, interdisciplinary work.

The benefit is twofold. Personally, it enables individuals to understand and manage their own health processes based on scientific evidence. Professionally, it integrates an updated explanatory framework into any health or human accompaniment discipline, positioning participants to advance into specialized programs within the field.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

General Objective

To provide participants with the scientific foundations of the Psycho-Neuro-Endocrino-Immunological paradigm, enabling them to understand bidirectional relationships between the psyche and the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems, and to apply an integrative view of health in their personal and professional spheres.

Specific Objectives

Understand the historical and epistemological origin of PNEI: the crisis of the reductionist model, the critique of biologism reducing mind to brain, and the biopsychosocial model proposed by George Engel.
Describe the organization of living organisms, cells, metabolism, and genetics as the basis for biological functioning.
Comprehend epigenetic mechanisms —DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling through histone modification, and non-coding RNA— and their role as the interface between environment and gene expression.
Identify life stages where epigenetic regulation is most sensitive: pregnancy, early childhood, and adulthood, along with the fundamentals of transgenerational inheritance.
Recognize personal interpretive frameworks and internal/relational conditions influencing the capacity to integrate new knowledge.
Identify the structure and function of major organ systems, specifically understanding nervous, endocrine, and immune systems as communication networks rather than mere anatomical structures.
Analyze the effects of prolonged stress on the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, as well as the role of inflammation as a connector between brain and body.
Explain molecular mechanisms linking stress to gene expression and inflammatory response, along with evidence showing how psychological and meditative interventions modify these markers.
Analyze the psychic dimension of the individual: basic emotions, emotional management, neurological levels, and the effect of language on physiology.
Recognize, through chronic inflammatory bowel disease cases, the complete circuit connecting gut, enteric nervous system, immunity, stress, and mind-body interventions.
Evaluate the role of nutrition, microbiota, physical activity, and social/physical environments as modulators of the PNEI network and evidence-backed epigenetic regulators.
Distinguish scientifically supported interventions from integrative claims lacking empirical backing.

ADMISSION PROFILE

This program is designed for individuals with a genuine interest in health and human behavior, serving as an introduction to and exploration of the human body. It also provides an ideal complement for professionals in human sciences —psychology, medicine, sociology, education, and human resources— as well as healthcare practitioners, entrepreneurs, and practicing coaches, through a holistic approach connecting mind and body and addressing their mutual effects.

Knowledge Level: No prior knowledge of biology or health sciences is required; content is developed progressively from foundational principles.
Professional Level: Open to both interested general public and practicing professionals seeking to integrate the PNEI approach into their practice.

METHODOLOGY

The program is delivered online, combining two formats. An asynchronous core composed of recorded lectures by Francesco and Anna Giulia Bottaccioli, available in the virtual campus for self-paced viewing before each live session. Additionally, synchronous live sessions led by the Isora Neurociencia faculty focus on building essential biological and physiological foundations, practical applications, and content discussions.

This combination allows participants to receive core principles directly from the discipline's founders while benefiting from live support essential for comprehensive topics. Live sessions are recorded for subsequent viewing, within a learning community fostering idea and experience exchanges.

Live sessions follow "El Observador Sistémico®" approach, working on pre-learning conditions prior to content delivery: preparing readiness, clarifying self-positioning, recognizing unexamined assumptions, distinguishing wrong answers from limited frameworks, and transitioning from fragmentation to wholeness. This journey is essential for effectively incorporating a systemic paradigm rather than merely memorizing facts.

Reference Manual: Fundamentals of Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology, by Francesco and Anna Giulia Bottaccioli, Isora Neurociencia Editions, 2025. Assigned readings accompany each module. Supplementary reading includes Epigenetics and Psychoneuroendocrineimmunology: The Two Sides of the Ongoing Revolution in Life Sciences by the same authors.

CURRICULUM ITINERARY

Module 1

Paradigm Shift and Foundations of Life

The origins of PNEI and the crisis of reductionist models, followed by biological foundations necessary for the course.

Asynchronous (Recorded Lectures): PNEI as a molecular-based systemic paradigm and the convergence of 20th-century scientific revolutions. Reductionism and biologism: mind viewed as a brain epiphenomenon and critique of this stance. Pandemic response as an example of dominant medical model limitations and George Engel’s 1977 Science paper.

Live Sessions: Organization of living systems from atoms to ecosystems. Cell structures and components. Metabolism as the body's engine. Genetics: mechanisms of biological transmission. Introduction to epigenetics: epigenetic marks, DNA methylation, histone modification, non-coding RNA, and the end of genetic determinism. Scientific methodology and research literature reading. Observer work: preparing readiness and ordering self-perspective prior to content.

Module 2

Body Languages: Nervous and Endocrine Systems

The organism's primary communication systems, presented through information functions rather than strict anatomy.

Asynchronous (Recorded Lectures): Effects of chronic stress on the psycho-cerebral system: amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus as an interconnected network. Inflammation as a primary bridge connecting brain and body.

Live Sessions: Neurons and brain plasticity. Neural networks inside and outside the brain. Hormones as intercellular messengers. Endocrine axes and stress-sensitive hormones. Chronobiology. Early-life epigenetics: prenatal stress, early childhood impact, and developmental outcomes.

Module 3

The Immune System and Support Systems

The third major communication network and an exploration of supporting biological systems.

Asynchronous (Recorded Lectures): Niels Jerne's Nobel Prize-winning immune network theory (1984) and core principles: immune systems function as networks distributed across most body tissues. Key immune system characteristics and tissue-specific response examples.

Live Sessions: Innate vs. adaptive immunity. Cytokines as network communication language. Support systems: skeletal, muscular, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, excretory, and integumentary (skin). Lab test interpretation: understanding biomolecules.

Module 4

The 'P' Dimension: Psyche and Epigenetics of Stress

The psychological dimension and molecular/epigenetic evidence demonstrating that psychological interventions modify biology.

Asynchronous (Recorded Lectures): Molecular impacts of stress: noradrenaline activation, NF-kB transcription factor, and inflammatory gene expression. Steve Cole's CTRA framework (Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity) and research showing a 6-week meditation intervention reversing negative epigenetic marks.

Live Sessions: Basic emotions. Emotional intelligence and internal regulation. Pleasure and pain as regulatory drivers. Neurological levels: internal personal structure. Language and physiological impact. Mindfulness practice. Observer work: identifying learned programming and sustaining openness to unknown perspectives as a learning condition.

Module 5

PNEI Communication and Clinical Case Study

Inter-system communication demonstrated through a comprehensive clinical case analysis.

Asynchronous (Recorded Lectures): Chronic inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) case analysis. Enteric nervous system and gut signaling molecules. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation and anti-inflammatory pathways. Evidence for mind-body/meditation practices in clinical care.

Live Sessions: Systemic perspective: viewing individuals holistically. Microbiota as a central network connector. The gut-brain axis. Clinical case discussion and group workshops.

Module 6

Network Modulation and Discipline Roadmap

Tools for regulating the PNEI network and guidance on future educational paths.

Asynchronous (Recorded Lectures): Nutrition as a tool to regulate the psycho-neuro-endocrine-immune network and its historical oversight in therapeutic contexts. Fatty acids, omega-3s, and cell membranes. Microbiota modifiers: diet, environment, and antibiotics. Metabolic disorders evaluated through PNEI perspectives.

Live Sessions: Physical and social environmental influences: loneliness, isolation, and social exclusion. Physical exercise. Epigenetic effects of nutrition and exercise: epigenetic vitamins, fatty acids, and botanical compounds. Transgenerational inheritance and environmental toxicity. Evidence and limits of non-pharmacological interventions, including critical evaluations of epi-drugs. Criteria to distinguish genuine PNEI from ungrounded claims. Observer work: connecting fragmentation into wholeness and integrating learning into ongoing practice. Discipline roadmap: future learning avenues.

CERTIFICATION AWARDED

Certificate Title: Fundamentals of Psycho-Neuro-Endocrino-Immunology (PNEI) and Epigenetics.
Issuing Institutions: Isora Neurociencia Business School and URBE University.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Computer, tablet, or smartphone equipped with a working camera and microphone.
Stable internet connection (minimum 10 Mbps recommended) suitable for streaming video content on the virtual campus.
Updated web browser and video conferencing application installed (Zoom / Teams) for live interactive sessions.
Headphones recommended for optimal audio clarity.
Active email account for virtual campus access, lecture recordings, and course materials.