We investigated the effect of autogenic training (AT) on cardiac autonomic nervous activity in fire services workers with the use of the questionnaire of the Japanese-language version of Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R-J) and indexes of heart rate variability. METHODS: We studied 22 male fire services workers who were divided into posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related stress group (n=10) and control group (n=12). They underwent AT twice or three times a week for 2 months. RESULTS: Posttraumatic stress disorder-related stress group showed a significantly higher cardiac sympathetic nervous activity and a significantly lower cardiac parasympathetic nervous activity than control group at baseline. Autogenic training significantly decreased cardiac sympathetic nervous activity and significantly increased cardiac parasympathetic nervous activity in both groups. These changes were accompanied by a significant decrease in the total points of IES-R-J. CONCLUSION: Autogenic training is effective for ameliorating the disturbance of cardiac autonomic nervous activity and psychological issues secondary to PTSD.

Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University Graduate School of Public Health, Yoshida-Konoe cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.

Functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS) differs from the other functional bowel disorders; it is less common, symptoms largely are unrelated to food intake and defecation, and it has higher comorbidity with psychiatric disorders. The etiology and pathophysiology are incompletely understood. Because FAPS likely represents a heterogeneous group of disorders, peripheral neuropathic pain mechanisms, alterations in endogenous pain modulation systems, or both may be involved in any one patient. The diagnosis of FAPS is made on the basis of positive symptom criteria and a longstanding history of symptoms; in the absence of alarm symptoms, an extensive diagnostic evaluation is not required. Management is based on a therapeutic physician-patient relationship and empirical treatment algorithms using various classes of centrally acting drugs, including antidepressants and anticonvulsants. The choice, dose, and combination of drugs are influenced by psychiatric comorbidities. Psychological treatment options include psychotherapy, relaxation techniques, and hypnosis. Refractory FAPS patients may benefit from a multidisciplinary pain clinic approach.

Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. rclouse@im.wustl.edu

This study quantified health-related quality of life in a group of irritable bowel syndrome patients and measures changes following a treatment programme of nurse-led gut-directed hypnotherapy. BACKGROUND: It is well recognized that health-related quality of life can be severely impaired in patients suffering form the irritable bowel syndrome. Current conventional treatment for irritable bowel syndrome is often unsatisfactory. In contrast it has been shown that gut-directed hypnotherapy is an effective treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with up to three-quarters of patients reporting symptomatic improvement. DESIGN/METHOD: Seventy-five patients (55 females/20 males, median age 37.1 years, age range 18-64) comprised the study group. Physical symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome were recorded using seven-day diary cards. On presentation the predominant symptoms were abdominal pain (61%), altered bowel habit (32.5%), and abdominal distension/bloating (6.5%) in the patient group. An irritable bowel syndrome quality of life questionnaire was used to define health-related quality of life. Psychological well-being was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Data analysis was carried out using MINITAB, Release 12 for Windows. RESULTS: Physical symptoms statistically improved after hypnotherapy. There were also significant statistical improvements (P < 0.001) in six of the eight health-related quality of life domains measured (emotional, mental health, sleep, physical function, energy and social role). These improvements were most marked in female patients who reported abdominal pain as their predominant physical symptom. Anxiety and depression improved following treatment. CONCLUSION: Gut-directed hypnotherapy has a very positive impact on health-related quality of life with improvements in psychological well-being and physical symptoms. It appears most effective in patients with abdominal pain and distension. Relevance to clinical practice. This study demonstrates that by integrating complementary therapies into conventional care that gastrointestinal nurses have a potential role in the management of irritable bowel syndrome.

School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Old Medical School, Edinburgh, UK. graeme.smith@ed.ac.uk

Theories about dreams have shaped our thinking about mind-body unity and the influence of thought on the body. In this article, the authors review the sparse literature regarding the use of hypnosis with children's dreams and nightmares, summarize how hypnotically induced dreams have been used to resolve psychological symptoms, and note five themes in the literature worthy of further investigation. Building on the value of both dreams and hypnosis for working through conflicts, the authors united mind-body medicine and hypnotically induced dreaming in a pediatric pulmonary practice. A case series is presented of 11 patients who were offered an opportunity to review their reported nightmares through hypnosis in order to uncover their potential meaning. The recurrent nightmares among these patients decreased greatly in frequency or resolved following the hypnosis enhanced dream review. Thus, we demonstrate that hypnotically induced dream review may be useful in a pediatric population.

jhlinden@cs.com

To determine the degree and duration of pain relief provided by specific pain treatments used by individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who have chronic pain. DESIGN: Postal survey. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 117 individuals who had traumatic SCI, were 18 years of age or older, and reported a chronic pain problem. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Questions assessing current or past use of 26 different pain treatments, the amount of relief each treatment provided, and the length of time that any pain relief usually lasts. RESULTS: The medications tried most often were nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (tried by 71%) and acetaminophen (tried by 70%); these medications were still being used by more than one half of the patients who had tried them. Opioids produced the greatest degree of pain relief on average (mean, 6.27 +/- 3.05 [SD] on a 0-10 scale, with 0 = no relief and 10 = complete relief) but were unlikely to be continued by those who tried them. Although 38% of respondents with pain had tried gabapentin, only 17% were still using it, and average pain relief was only moderate (mean, 3.32 +/- 3.03 on the 0-10 relief scale). Seventy-three percent of the respondents had tried at least 1 of 7 alternative pain treatments, and the most frequently tried were massage, marijuana, and acupuncture. The most relief was provided by massage (mean, 6.05 +/- 2.47] on the 0-10 relief scale) and marijuana (mean, 6.62 +/- 2.54 on the 0-10 relief scale). The relief from the various treatments, including most medications, tended to last only minutes or hours; however, pain relief from alternative treatments such as massage, acupuncture, and hypnosis was reported to last for days in 25% to 33% of those who tried these treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Many patients are not finding adequate pain relief from commonly prescribed medications. Alternative therapies should be considered as additional treatment options in this population.

University of Washington, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Box 356490, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. dianamac@u.washington.edu

In the aftermath of the human genome project, genotyping is fast becoming an affordable and technologically viable complement to phenotyping. Whereas attempts to characterize hypnotic responsiveness have been largely phenomenological, data emanating from exploratory genetic data may offer supplementary insights into the genetic bases of hypnotizability. We outline our genetic and neuroimaging findings and discuss potential implications to top-down control systems. These results may explain individual differences in hypnotizability and propose new ideas for studying the influence of suggestion on neural systems.

Two studies investigated management of conflict in hypnosis by subtly increasing the brightness of a visual stimulus during a suggestion for hypnotic blindness to the stimulus. In Study 1, 23 high hypnotizable participants were administered a hypnotic suggestion for blindness to a projected light. For half the participants, the brightness of the light was intensified during the suggestion. Behavioral ratings and online analog-dial measurement indicated that participants reported decreased hypnotic blindness during the increased conflict condition. In Study 2, 20 participants were administered the nonexperimental procedure to investigate the impact of demand characteristics in this paradigm. Parallel findings in Studies 1 and 2 indicated that demand characteristics may explain the response to hypnotic conflict. Limitations in applying the nonexperimental procedure to this paradigm and the need for further investigation are discussed.

University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. r.bryant@unsw.edu.au

It was hypothesized that dental anxiety, which leads to neurophysiologic alterations in heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure prior, during and subsequent to dental treatment, can be influenced by medical hypnosis. We report the positive impact from non-invasive hypno-sedation during dental implant surgery on a 54-year-old female patient who experienced neurophysiologic reactions as a result of the psychosomatic process of dental anxiety (dental anxiety scale value = 13). The neurophysiologic changes during dental surgery performed with and without hypnosis were compared after the patient underwent the same surgical treatment protocol. This case report was part of a study designed to evaluate hypnosis as a non-invasive therapy for dental-anxious patients over six sessions using subjective experience and objective parameters, which included electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation of the blood, respiration rate, salivary cortisol concentration and body temperature.

Department of Prosthodontics, Maxillofacial Surgery and Neurology and Psychiatry, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany. seitner@prothetik-erlangen.de

The paper promotes the view that the alert brain alternates between operating in an action mode, based on frontal lobe function, and a receptive mode, involving cholinergic system activity. Their alternation forms a conversation with the environment. It is hypothesized that competition between the modes centers on control over excitability of neurons in the CA1 field of the hippocampus. Increased excitability enhances the flow of hippocampal output through the subiculum resulting in support for frontal lobe function and the action mode. Decreased excitability, on the other hand, reduces this output and that support, leading to a disconnection between frontal lobes and hippocampus. At the same time, correlated cholinergic activity enhances receptive mode processes, indicated by the occurrence of the hippocampal theta rhythm. It is suggested that the hypothesis provides a conceptual framework for considering various phenomena including REM sleep, schizophrenia, and hypnosis. In REM sleep the receptive mode remains dominant as cholinergic activity supports the hippocampal integration of experience into a composite view of reality. In schizophrenia, the action and receptive modes are not properly coordinated because of a dysfunction in anterior hippocampal output. And hypnosis might be seen as a process in which conditions and suggestions are able to induce in some people a prolonged occurrence of the receptive mode allowing a normal view of reality to be altered.

2021 Jolly Road, Okemos, MI 48864, United States. johns127@msu.edu

Bispectral index (BIS) and state entropy (SE) monitor hypnosis. We evaluated the correlation and the agreement between those parameters during propofol anaesthesia and laryngoscopy with and without muscle relaxation. METHODS: A total of 25 patients were anaesthetized with propofol. At steady state (SS: BIS 40-50), they randomly received rocuronium (R) or saline (S); 3 min thereafter, a 20 s laryngoscopy was performed. Correlation (regression analysis) and agreement (Bland-Altman analysis) were evaluated before induction (baseline), at loss of eyelash reflex (LER), at SS and during the first 3 min after laryngoscopy (L). RESULTS: The correlation coefficient r (95% CI), the mean difference (MD) (95% CI), and the limits of agreement [lower-upper limits of 95% CI of MD (sd 1.96)] between BIS and SE were as follows. Overall recordings: 0.87 (0.83 to 0.90), 2.5 (1.2 to 3.0), and [-19.5 to 24.6]; Baseline: 0.45 (0.06 to 0.72), 7.6 (6.0 to 9.2), and [-2.7 to 17.9]; LER: 0.74 (0.47 to 0.88), 8.3 (3.5 to 13.2), and [-22.6 to 39.3]; SS, all patients: 0.41 (0.14 to 0.63), 2.0 (-0.5 to 4.6), and [-19.0 to 23.3]; SS, Group S: 0.36 (-0.07 to 0.68), 1.9 (-2.5 to 6.3), and [-25.0 to 28.8]; SS, Group R: 0.63 (0.32 to 0.82), 0.2 (-2.0 to 2.3), and [-14.0 to 14.4]; L, all patients: 0.49 (0.32 to 0.63), 0.7 (-1.6 to 3.0), and [-25.6 to 27.1]; L, Group S: 0.41 (0.13 to 0.63), 2.3 (-2.4 to 7.1), and [-36.7 to 41.3]; L, Group R: 0.72 (0.56 to 0.83), -0.6 (-2.2 to 1.0), and [-14.3 to 13.1]. The correlation was good except for SS in Group S. The MD was significantly different from 0 for overall recordings, during baseline and LER, but not for the other conditions. The agreement was poor except for baseline, and SS and L in Group R. CONCLUSIONS: BIS and SE are globally well correlated. In contrast, agreement is poor as differences of more than 20 units are frequently observed, except for awake and paralysed patients.

University Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, CHR de la Citadelle Liege, Belgium. vincent.bonhomme@chu.ulg.ac.be

Individual differences in wound healing have long been recognized. Clinical observation has suggested that negative mood or stress is associated with slow wound healing. Basic mind-body research is now confirming this observation. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), whose expression can be controlled by cytokines, play a role in wound healing. Using a blister chamber wound model on human forearm skin exposed to ultraviolet light, researchers have demonstrated that stress or a change in mood is sufficient to modulate MMP and TIMP expression and, presumably, wound healing. Activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenal medullary (SAM) systems can modulate levels of MMPs, providing a physiological link among mood, stress, hormones, and wound healing. This line of basic research suggests that activation of the HPA and SAM axes, even in individuals within the normal range of depressive symptoms, could alter MMP levels and change the course of wound healing in blister wounds.

When a hypnotist appears on screen, expect evil. If his induction features 'magnetic' hand passes, he's probably about to compel someone to commit a crime. Ifhe hypnotizes with an intense stare, his intent is likelier seduction-in fact many screen inductions are identical to the eye contact ethologists have labeled "the copulatory gaze." This paper explores to role of hypnosis in more than 230 films in which it has been depicted and categorizes the--mostly negative--stereotypes about it. A handful of exceptions in which hypnosis is positive and/or realistic are examined. The discussion compares this to the role of psychotherapy and dreams in cinema. It discusses why hypnosis is so maligned and whether there is anything practitioners can do to alter the stereotype.

Harvard Medical School, USA. Deirdre_Barrett@hms.Harvard.edu

This article argues for and illustrates incorporating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions into pain treatment plans. Two CAM treatments, cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) and self-hypnosis training, are offered in a multidisciplinary pain treatment program. Because these interventions focus on pain relief, they may be of particular interest to patients who have chronic pain who begin treatment with a primary interest in pain reduction. Two cases that illustrate the clinical application of CES and self-hypnosis are presented. When effective, these interventions can help patients have greater confidence in treatments offered by psychologists for pain management and may help make them more open to participating in other psychological interventions that have established efficacy for pain management (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy). Because of their brevity, these treatments also can be offered alone to patients who may not have the resources or time to participate in more time-intensive treatment. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 62: 1419-1431, 2006.

Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine.

Much research indicates that attempts to suppress thoughts lead to increased accessibility of those thoughts, especially when additional cognitive load is present. On the premise that hypnosis may permit more effective management of cognitive load, it was hypothesized that hypnosis may enhance more effective thought suppression. The present research examined whether the obstacle of cognitive load could be bypassed using hypnosis to facilitate successful thought suppression. Thirty-nine high and 40 low hypnotizable participants were hypnotized and received either a suppression instruction or no instruction for a memory of an embarrassing experience and subsequently completed a sentence-unscrambling task that indexed accessibility of embarrassing thoughts. Whereas lows instructed to suppress displayed a delayed increase in suppressed thoughts, highs did not. These findings support the proposition that hypnosis facilitates thought suppression.

School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. r.bryant@unsw.edu.au

In contrast with most inhalational anesthetics, the anesthetic gases xenon (Xe) and nitrous oxide (N2O) act by blocking the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Using X-ray crystallography, we examined the binding characteristics of these two gases on two soluble proteins as structural models: urate oxidase, which is a prototype of a variety of intracellular globular proteins, and annexin V which possesses structural and functional characteristics that allow it to be considered as a prototype for the NMDA receptor. The structure of these proteins complexed with Xe and N2O were determined. One N2O molecule or one Xe atom binds to the same main site in both proteins. A second subsite is observed for N2O in each case. The gas binding sites are always hydrophobic flexible gas cavities buried within the monomer. Comparison of the effects of Xe and N2O on urate oxidase and annexin V reveals an interesting relationship with the in vivo pharmacological effects of these gases, the ratio of the gas binding sites volume expansion and the ratio of the narcotic potency being similar. Given these data, we propose that alterations of cytosolic globular protein functions by general anesthetics would be responsible for the early stages of anesthesia such as amnesia and hypnosis, while additional alterations of ion-channel membrane receptor functions are required for deeper effects that progress to "surgical" anesthesia.

CNRS UMR 6185, Centre Cyceron.

The study group included 17 cancer patients, aged 25-55, (stage III-IV), mostly suffering melanoma. All of them received hypnosuggestive therapy to correct psycho-emotional disorders. Significant decrease in anxiety-related indices (p < 0.001) due to therapy pointed to rehabilitation of psychological defenses. Clinical rehabilitation was manifested by improved quality of life (p < 0.01), better habitus and adaptation (p < 0.01). The modulating effect on the macrophageal and phagocytic components of the immune system (p < 0.05) was matched by a significant correlation between psychological defense indices and those of immunological status. Our data have contributed to the existing knowledge about relationships of mind and immunity in cancer patients.

Memory decline and mental confusion frequently complicate the clinical presentation of fibromyalgia; however, formal cognitive examination often does not support deterioration. This paradox was examined in the context of dissociation, a condition with many cognitive similarities. Dissociation refers to the separation of parts of experience from the mainstream of consciousness. A common example is highway hypnosis. Eighty-nine fibromyalgia (FM) patients and 64 other rheumatic disease patients were screened for memory decline and mental confusion using a questionnaire format. Pain, dissociation, affective distress, fatigue, sleep difficulty, and mental confusion were also assessed.Cognitive complaints (76.4%-43.8%) and dissociative symptoms (37.1%-1.9%) were overrepresented in patients with FM. Among FM patients with high dissociation, cognitive difficulties were reported by 95%; 100% of these cases reported that both memory and mental clarity were affected, a condition referred to as fibrofog. Dissociation in combination with fibrofog was associated with higher levels of FM symptom intensity and decreased mental well being. These findings suggest that dissociation may play a role in FM symptom amplification and may aid in comprehending the regularity of cognitive symptoms. Separating cases of fibrofog from cognitive conditions with actual brain damage is important. It may be prudent to add a test of dissociation as an adjunct to the evaluation of FM patients in cases of suspected fibrofog. Otherwise, test results may prove normal even in patients with disabling cognitive symptoms.

Department of Psychology (FL, MM) and Section of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine (RSK), Rush Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (ARH), University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, Washington.

BACKGROUND: Many women would like to avoid pharmacological or invasive methods of pain management in labour and this may contribute towards the popularity of complementary methods of pain management. This review examined currently available evidence supporting the use of alternative and complementary therapies for pain management in labour. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of complementary and alternative therapies for pain management in labour on maternal and perinatal morbidity. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (February 2006), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2006, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1966 to February 2006), EMBASE (1980 to February 2006) and CINAHL (1980 to February 2006). SELECTION CRITERIA: The inclusion criteria included published and unpublished randomised controlled trials comparing complementary and alternative therapies (but not biofeedback) with placebo, no treatment or pharmacological forms of pain management in labour. All women whether primiparous or multiparous, and in spontaneous or induced labour, in the first and second stage of labour were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Meta-analysis was performed using relative risks for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences for continuous outcomes. The outcome measures were maternal satisfaction, use of pharmacological pain relief and maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes. MAIN RESULTS: Fourteen trials were included in the review with data reporting on 1537 women using different modalities of pain management; 1448 women were included in the meta-analysis. Three trials involved acupuncture (n = 496), one audio-analgesia (n = 24), two trials acupressure (n = 172), one aromatherapy (n = 22), five trials hypnosis (n = 729), one trial of massage (n = 60), and relaxation (n = 34). The trials of acupuncture showed a decreased need for pain relief (relative risk (RR) 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49 to 1.00, two trials 288 women). Women taught self-hypnosis had decreased requirements for pharmacological analgesia (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.79, five trials 749 women) including epidural analgesia (RR 0.30, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.40) and were more satisfied with their pain management in labour compared with controls (RR 2.33, 95% CI 1.15 to 4.71, one trial). No differences were seen for women receiving aromatherapy, or audio analgesia. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture and hypnosis may be beneficial for the management of pain during labour; however, the number of women studied has been small. Few other complementary therapies have been subjected to proper scientific study.

The University of Adelaide, Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Level 6, Medical School North, Frome Road, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. caroline.a.smith@adelaide.edu.au

Nurses have used complementary therapies for many years to relieve anxiety, promote comfort, and reduce or alleviate pain. Physical therapies are most commonly used in our scenario but behavioral approach had been less customary, since familiarity of health personnel is very less (36%) with these techniques (Zaza et al, 1999). Hypnosis is empirically proved best therapy for pain management. Hypnosis is a process involving a hypnotist and a subject who agrees to be hypnotized. Being hypnotized is usually characterized by intense concentration, extreme relaxation and high suggestibility. This paper initially address hypnosis from an historical perspective to give the reader a decent background in which to view current trends in research in the field. Then will explain how hypnosis work followed by the empirical evidences and problems encountered in use of hypnosis when used for pain management.

College of Nursing, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana.

This case report discusses a patient who experienced frequent nightmares and chronic low-level anxiety during his 3 1/2 year imprisonment. He developed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in part because he adamantly insisted that he had been wrongfully incarcerated. The literature supports the use of hypnotic imagery rehearsal for treating nightmares that stem from PTSD. Due to the patient's distrust of others and trauma history, it was uncertain whether hypnotic intervention would be effective. It is of note, there is no indication in the literature that hypnosis has been used with people on parole, let alone individuals who believe they were wrongly accused of committing a crime.

NYU Student Health Center 726 Broadway, Ste. 471 New York, NY 10003, USA. brooke.donatone@nyu.edu

This paper attempts to understand the relationship between the clinical efficacy of hypnosis and its negative perception among many medical educators, practitioners and the general public. By exploring the history of hypnosis, an attempt was made to point out several events that may have led to both the past and current misperception of hypnosis which the author believes have caused hypnosis to become "medicine's dirty word".

University of South Florida, USA. wupshaw@hsc.usf.edu

Researchers at the Mind/Body Medical Institute of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, looked at the efficacy of the Relaxation Response (RR) in helping to decrease anxiety and accompanying salivary cortisol levels, as well as improve memory and attention span in healthy older adults.

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A review of three pilot studies by J.H. Gruzelier examines the effect of relaxation, self-hypnosis and guided imagery on basic immune functions, and offers a wide range of exciting findings. The author and his colleagues investigated self-hypnosis training that incorporated imagery of the immune system. In two of his studies, hypnosis was found to buffer the effects of stress on immune functions in medical students at exam time. When he compared self-hypnosis with and without immune system imagery, the data confirmed that there were advantages to the targeted imagery. Results in the imagery group showed heightened immune function, improvements in mood, and fewer winter viral infections. A third study looked at patients with virulent and chronic herpes simplex virus-2 HSV-2. Six weeks of training almost halved recurrence, improved mood and reduced levels of clinical depression and anxiety in the intervention group. Immune functions were up-regulated, notably functional natural killer cell activity to HSV-1. The review concludes that these preliminary studies show that hypnosis with targeted imagery provides immune control along with enhanced mood and well-being, and that larger studies with controls are warranted.

Italian researchers at the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The University of Torino reviewed the literature to see how migraine headaches are treated during pregnancy, when hormones exacerbate the condition, while many standard drugs are contra-indicated.

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Researchers at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Hong Kong Polytechnic University find mental imagery to be more effective at promoting relearning

Researchers at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Hong Kong Polytechnic University studied the efficacy of mental imagery at promoting relearning for people after a stroke.

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Our body's health is dependent largely upon a delicate balance of our immune system. While in some instances, such as AIDS, an immune system may be deficient, in others, such as rheumatism and various liver disorders, the system may be over active. There is considerable evidence that emotional traits, both negative and positive, my influence this balance and thus affect one's susceptibility to infection or a hyperactive immune system. Stress levels and negative moods often precede the onset of both minor and major illnesses. Fortunately, the opposite is also true.

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Over the past 20 years, there as been considerable evidence that psychological factors can play a substantive role in the development and progression of coronary artery disease. There is evidence that hypnosis can be effective in the treatment of coronary artery disease, enhancing the effect of standard cardiac rehabilitation in reducing all-cause mortality and cardiac event recurrences for up to 2 years.

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Adult Posttraumatic Stress Disorder secondary to childhood sexual abuse is clinically complicated by its increasingly noted deficient linguistic recording of the abuse, perhaps partially explaining consequent difficulties with verbalizing in therapy. A single case illustrates that hypnotically utilizing the body-emotion register of encrypted sexual abuse trauma may not only afford more naturalistic retrieval and purgation of the experience, but may also provide the very medium for the healing narrative required for recovery. The patient's original and continuing therapist was also present as support and observer for all but 1 of 25 hypnosis sessions. Treatment gains were robust at 3-year follow up. This case suggests that effective treatment for sexual abuse PTSD may in some instances reside in more nonverbally sensitive interventions not aiming to prove, probe, or process linguistic reconstructions of memory. This is the first published report of such a bodily narrative in hypnosis.

Antioch New England Graduate School, 40 Avon Street, Keene, NH 03431, USA. Victor_Pantesco@antiochne.edu

EEG was registered in healthy volunteers before and after their entry into modeling (hypnotic) catalepsy. The brain activity recorded under standard electrode placement (the 10-20 international classification) was processed using a special computer program. The data obtained were digitally represented as sets of standard parameters of EEG patterns in 0,5-32 Hz diapason (alpha-, beta1-, beta2,-, theta-, delta-rythms). These parameters were compared under different functional tests particularly connected with the control of sensomotor brain activity. Calculated coefficients of interhemisphere asymmetry allow one to evaluate dynamics of neuropsychological processes of deprivating adaptation related to low-frequency bands. EEG-parameters precisely evaluating the level of hypnotic catalepsy have been established.

PMID: 16608110 [PubMed - indexed for

Once again a pilot study shows that self-regulation techniques - this time biofeedback and relaxation - are effective at reducing blood glucose levels

Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Ohio in Toledo conducted randomized, controlled clinical trials to determine the effects of biofeedback and relaxation on blood glucose and HbA1c (A1C) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized to either 10 sessions of biofeedback (electromyograph and thermal) and relaxation or 3 sessions of standard patient education. All the sessions were individual. Thirty-nine subjects were entered, and 30 completed the 3-month protocol.

The study assessed average blood glucose, A1C, forehead muscle tension, and peripheral skin temperature. In additon, inventories measuring depression and anxiety were administered before randomization and after completion of the treatment or the control condition.

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In a randomized, controlled, clinical trial, researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, atThe University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Piscataway, evaluated the effectiveness of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback as a complementary treatment for asthma.

Ninety-four adult, outpatient, paid volunteers with asthma were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) a full protocol, consisting of HRV biofeedback and abdominal breathing through pursed lips and prolonged exhalation); (2) HRV biofeedback alone; (3) placebo EEG biofeedback; and (4) a wait list control. Subjects were first pre-stabilized, using controller medication, and then medication was titrated biweekly by blinded asthma specialists, according to a protocol based on National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines which responds to symptoms, spirometry, and home peak flows.

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Principal Investigator James Halper at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York completed his guided imagery study with asthma patients, showing that although imagery did not seem to influence actual asthma symptoms, it did result in significantly more patients being able to discontinue their medication. Not surprisingly, he also found significantly less depression and anxiety in the guided imagery group than in the control group.

Researchers at Purdue University School of Nursing conducted a randomized, controlled, longitudinal, clinical trial pilot study to determine whether Guided Imagery (GI) with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) would reduce pain and mobility difficulties of women with osteoarthritis. Twenty-eight older women with OA were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. The treatment consisted of listening twice a day to a 10-to-15-minute audiotaped script that guided the women in GI with PMR.

Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant difference between the two groups in the amount of change in pain and mobility difficulties they experienced over 12 weeks. The treatment group reported a significant reduction in pain and mobility difficulties at week 12 as compared to the control group. Members of the control group reported no differences in pain and non-significant increases in mobility difficulties.

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A randomized, controlled clinical trial at Purdue University School of Nursing studied whether Guided Imagery (GI) with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) would reduce pain and mobility difficulties of women with Osteoarthritis (OA). In this pilot study, 28 older women with OA were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. The treatment consisted of listening twice a day to a 10-to-15-minute audiotaped script that guided the women in GI with PMR.

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A longitudinal, randomized clinical trial pilot study was conducted to determine whether Guided Imagery (GI) with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) would reduce pain and mobility difficulties of women with OA. Twenty-eight older women with OA were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. The treatment consisted of listening twice a day to a 10-to-15-minute audiotaped script that guided the women in GI with PMR.

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