Well, the course sounds like it is all about the HPA axis, which is completely BCPM. If you think it would be a good letter, I would get it, especially if there is not an alternative that would provide an equal or better letter.
Yeah that's what I figured, It's a fascinating subject material, and we spend just as much time going over the physiology of the immune system and nervous system in about as much detail in my actual upper division physiology courses for my minor (The undergraduate physiology department here is part of the college of medicine).
I'd say the field is equal parts psychology, immunology, and nervous system physiology. Some endocrinology is thrown in too, because cortisol has a profound effect on chronic inflammation levels when glucocorticoid receptor levels are down regulated and you just can't transduce the signal for immune cells to stop pumping out cytokines. We just went over a lot of examples relating to the HPA axis as well.
Our final for the class is writing a 10 page research proposal for a grant study in the field of PNI. Obviously I won't be following up with my own grant idea because I'll be applying to medical school, but I'm excited to try and find a link (read: only write about a theoretical study) between psychosocial stress and circulating cytokine levels (specifically negative adipokines from visceral fat that play a role in insulin resistance)
If such a study were done it would help uncover the mechanistic basis of psychological stress having a measurable effect of the development of metabolic syndrome.
Half the class are graduate students, some professors I've had for classes are auditing the class, and generally I need to pull just as much knowledge from my physiology minor than I do from my psychology base, hence figuring it should be counted as a science letter.
If it doesn't, I still think it would be an incredibly strong non-science letter, to which I can get two physiology professors for my science letters. At the same time, a majority of schools I am applying to next cycle will require a committee letter over the individual letters. Should I still be getting individual letters?
