We just came across this interesting on-line quiz regarding tobacco addiction. It was published on the Public Library of Science Web site.

The quiz can be found at Click Here.

Background

There are no published data on national lifetime prevalence and treatment of mental disorders in the Arab region. Furthermore, the effect of war on first onset of disorders has not been addressed previously on a national level, especially in the Arab region. Thus, the current study aims at investigating the lifetime prevalence, treatment, age of onset of mental disorders, and their relationship to war in Lebanon.

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Submitted by John Freedom, ACEP Research Committee

It's an exciting season for books on Energy Psychology. First of all, Gary Craig's THE EFT MANUAL, published by Energy Psychology Press will be available in August. Long awaited (although available as a free download on the 'emofree' website for years), The EFT Manual is a very user-friendly yet comprehensive introduction to EFT. There are chapters on EP Theory, the Basic Recipe, how to apply EFT, and numerous case histories (including Gary's work with vets at the VA), as well as a section on 'impediments' blocking EFT from working. Both well-written and well-illustrated, this book is the perfect gift to give to friends, family and colleagues whom you wish to introduce to our field. (Gary Craig and Dawson Church, the publisher, have generously donated all profits from advance sales to EP Research).

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The novelty of this study was to investigate the changes in cardiorespiratory and metabolic intensity brought about by the practice of pranayamas (breathing exercises of yoga) and meditation during the same hatha-yoga session. The technique applied was the one advocated by the hatha-yoga system. Nine yoga instructors-five females and four males, mean age of 44 +/- 11, 6, were subjected to analysis of the gases expired during three distinct periods of 30 min: rest, respiratory exercises and meditative practice. A metabolic open circuit computerized system was applied (VO2000, MedGraphics-USA). The oxygen uptake (VO(2)) and the carbon dioxide output (VCO(2)) were statistically different (P Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2008 Mar 4 Danucalov MA, Simões RS, Kozasa EH, Leite JR. Unidade de Medicina Comportamental, Depto. de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Napoleão de Barros, 925, CEP 04024-002, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are frequently used for the treatment of sleep disorders, but in many cases patients do not discuss these therapies directly with their health care provider. There is a growing body of well-designed clinical trials using CAM that have shown the following: (1) Melatonin is an effective agent for the treatment of circadian phase disorders that affect sleep; however, the role of melatonin in the treatment of primary or secondary insomnia is less well established. (2) Valerian has shown a benefit in some, but not all clinical trials. (3) Several other modalities, such as Tai Chi, acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, and meditation have improved sleep parameters in a limited number of early trials. Future work examining CAM has the potential to significantly add to our treatment options for sleep disorders in older adults.

Clin Geriatr Med. 2008 Feb;24(1):121-38, viii. Gooneratne NS. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ngoonera@mail.med.upenn.edu

ABSTRACT Background: Ayurveda, India's natural health care tradition, has a unique way of classifying human population based on individual constitution or prakriti. Ayurveda's tridosha theory identifies principles of motion (vata), metabolism (pitta), and structure (kapha) as discrete phenotypic groupings. Patwardhan et al. (2005) hypothesized in a paper published in this journal that there is a genetic connotation to prakriti and as proof of this concept showed a correlation between HLA alleles and prakriti type, establishing a rationale and preliminary experimental support for the concept of an association between HLA alleles and the Ayurvedic tridosha theory of individual prakriti types. This work is both part of and a catalyst for a wider revolution in the scientific investigation of Ayurveda in India, referred to as "Ayurvedic biology" and "AyuGenomics." Subsequently, Chen et al. (2007) reported a similar study in this journal using a classification based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory. Conclusions: The findings of a genetic basis for both Ayurvedic and TCM classifications indicate a commonality between Asia's great medical traditions in their diagnostic typologies and a genetic basis for Asian traditional medicine's theory of discrete and discernable groupings of psycho-physiologic differences. Accordingly, new horizons have opened for collaborative East-East research and for an individualized approach to disease management and activation of the full range of human potential, as articulated in Ayurveda and TCM.

J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Jun;14(5):571-6. Patwardhan B, Bodeker G. University of Pune, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Pune, India.

Hypnosis and biofeedback are cyberphysiologic strategies that enable subjects to develop voluntary control of certain physiologic processes for the purpose of improving health. Self-hypnosis has been used with and without biofeedback for a wide range of therapeutic applications, and both laboratory studies and clinical trials have shown it to be effective in improving symptoms and outcomes in various disorders. More formal Cochrane reviews of hypnotherapeutic interventions are currently under way. Thorough patient assessment should precede training in self-hypnosis in order to properly tailor training strategies to patient preferences and characteristics, especially for children. Workshops offered by various clinical societies are available to train health professionals in self-hypnosis.

Cleve Clin J Med. 2008 Mar;75 Suppl 2:S39-43. Olness K. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. karen.olness@case.edu

"Having seen the benefits medically and psychologically of Hypnosis, I chose to specialise in this field. "

David originally trained as a Hypnotherapist with the Hypnotherapy Control Board in England.

In 1998 David was elected to the Central Council for the International Association of Hypno-Analysts, a post he held for 3 years. In 1998, he wrote a thesis entitled "The Effects of Stress on Holocaust Survivors and Victims of War", with the emphasis on German Concentration Camps and torture victims in general.

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John Freedom, of the ACEP research committee, just informed us of this YouTube video.

The belief that postoperative atrial fibrillation (PAF) results from transient autonomic dysfunction suggests that interventions such as clinical hypnosis may reduce the incidence of PAF. To explore this hypothesis, we retrospectively compared outcomes between two groups of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery: 50 consecutive patients who received preoperative hypnoidal explanation of the surgical procedure and 50 case-matched historical controls who received no clinical hypnosis. The patients who received hypnosis were significantly less likely to experience an episode of PAF (P = .003) and showed nonsignificant trends toward superior outcomes in terms of length of stay, narcotic use, and total hospital charges. Our findings indicate that prospective randomized trials are warranted to further delineate the potential benefit of clinical hypnosis for prevention of PAF.

Cleve Clin J Med. 2008 Mar;75 Suppl 2:S44-7. Novoa R, Hammonds T. Aultman Heart Center, Aultman Health Foundation, Canton, OH 44714, USA. rnovoa@neo.rr.com

Previous research on assessment of mindfulness by self-report suggests that it may include five component skills: observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity to inner experience. These elements of mindfulness can be measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). The authors investigated several aspects of the construct validity of the FFMQ in experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups. Consistent with predictions, most mindfulness facets were significantly related to meditation experience and to psychological symptoms and well-being. As expected, relationships between the observing facet and psychological adjustment varied with meditation experience. Regression and mediation analyses showed that several of the facets contributed independently to the prediction of well-being and significantly mediated the relationship between meditation experience and well-being. Findings support the construct validity of the FFMQ in a combination of samples not previously investigated.

Assessment. 2008 Feb 29 Baer RA, Smith GT, Lykins E, Button D, Krietemeyer J, Sauer S, Walsh E, Duggan D, Williams JM.

Peter Breggin, M.D. began the full time private practice of psychiatry in 1968. Dr. Peter Breggin has been informing the professions, media and the public about the potential dangers of drugs, electroshock, psychosurgery, involuntary treatment, and the biological theories of psychiatry for over three decades. Since 1964 Dr. Peter Breggin has been publishing peer-reviewed articles and medical books in his subspecialty of clinical psychopharmacology. He is the author of dozens of scientific articles and more than 20 professional books, many dealing with psychiatric medication, the FDA and drug approval process, the evaluation of clinical trials, and standards of care in psychiatry and related fields.

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Hypnosis is Needed More Than Ever for Safe and Effective Smoking Cessation

by George Wissing

Twenty years ago, the esteemed C. Everett Koop penned the words, "Nicotine is addictive in the same sense as heroin." [Emphasis added.] This provocative statement opened the 1988 Surgeon General's report on the topic of nicotine addiction.

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Meditation can be conceptualized as a family of complex emotional and attentional regulatory training regimes developed for various ends, including the cultivation of well-being and emotional balance. Among these various practices, there are two styles that are commonly studied. One style, focused attention meditation, entails the voluntary focusing of attention on a chosen object. The other style, open monitoring meditation, involves nonreactive monitoring of the content of experience from moment to moment. The potential regulatory functions of these practices on attention and emotion processes could have a long-term impact on the brain and behavior.

Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 Mar 6 Lutz A, Slagter HA, Dunne JD, Davidson RJ. Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53705, USA.

Here we report that a specific form of yoga can generate controlled high-frequency gamma waves. For the first time, paroxysmal gamma waves (PGW) were observed in eight subjects practicing a yoga technique of breathing control called Bhramari Pranayama (BhPr). To obtain new insights into the nature of the EEG during BhPr, we analyzed EEG signals using time-frequency representations (TFR), independent component analysis (ICA), and EEG tomography (LORETA). We found that the PGW consists of high-frequency biphasic ripples. This unusual activity is discussed in relation to previous reports on yoga and meditation. It is concluded this EEG activity is most probably non-epileptic, and that applying the same methodology to other meditation recordings might yield an improved understanding of the neurocorrelates of meditation.

Conscious Cogn. 2008 Feb 23 Vialatte FB, Bakardjian H, Prasad R, Cichocki A. RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Laboratory for Advanced Brain Signal Processing, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-Shi, Saitama-Ken 351-0198, Japan.

The purpose of this study was to describe the use of hypnotic suggestion as a means of precipitating nonepileptic events in children while they are undergoing video electroencephalographic monitoring (VEEG) for differential diagnosis of seizurelike behavior. METHODS: Nine children aged 8-16 years were referred for VEEG to differentiate between epileptic seizures and nonepileptic events. All subjects underwent psychiatric consultation. Hypnosis was attempted in all subjects to try to provoke typical seizurelike events. RESULTS: In eight of nine patients, their typical seizurelike events were provoked by hypnosis. In all eight children, video and EEG analysis of the provoked events demonstrated them to be nonepileptic. No epileptiform abnormalities were present on interictal EEGs. No epileptic seizures occurred. CONCLUSION: Hypnosis is a useful and ethical means of provoking psychogenic nonepileptic events in children. Hypnotic suggestion should be considered as a provocative method when possibly psychogenic nonepileptic events have not occurred spontaneously during diagnostic evaluation.

Epilepsy Behav. 2008 Apr;12(3):456-9. Epub 2008 Jan 14. Olson DM, Howard N, Shaw RJ. Department of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.

by Tim Brunson DCH

What is a great presentation? Many of our readers also do professional speaking. Others may occasionally find themselves giving talks. As a hypnotherapist, NLP and hypnotherapy trainer, as a former top training administrator for 40,000 American soldiers, and as professional speaker, I have some very definite ideas of the structure of phenomenal presentations. I've studied many of the most inspirational speeches of the Western civilization and reviewed numerous talks by talented presenters who command $10,000 to $20,000 per keynote. What I've learned is contrary to most conventional thought.

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As a therapist I consider not only the how the memory (or gestalt) was encoded during a Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE), but what effect that the event had and has on the person both physiologically and mentally. If the event is traumatic enough to cause stress, the fight and flight defense mechanism will lead to increased cortisol flow, IL-6 fluctuations, and eventual adrenal fatigue. Mentally/Neurologically, dominant "brain maps" may be created, which perpetuate an overactive anterior cingulate (ACG), result in a continual looping (such as in PSTD) and create further mental dysfunction as the ACG will compete for energy resources (hemoglobin and oxygen, specifically).

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Dr Leila Edwards is the leading consultant hypnotherapist and motivational coach based in Bahrain, where she is Director and Senior Consultant of The Makeover Experience. Leila works in private practice as well as the corporate sector and runs courses in personal and professional development. She established the first international UK-accredited Professional Practitioner Diploma in Hypnotherapy in the Gulf, in association with the Essex Institute of Clinical Hypnosis (EICH). A qualified counsellor and therapist, Leila was personally trained in advanced and clinical hypnotherapy by a number of leading practitioners, including Valerie Austin and Gil Boyne, a renowned hypnotist, educator, and founder of the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.

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Several papers of interest for researchers and clinicians have recently appeared in scientific medical literature evaluating hypnosis' efficacy in managing patients' distress and pain during surgical procedures. In this article, following a pilot study, the authors describe the context and standardized induction procedures that they are using in an ongoing clinical trial evaluating the effect of hypnosis on acute pain and anxiety during termination of pregnancy.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):214-28. Marc I, Rainville P, Dodin S. Laval University, Québec City, Canada.

by Marilyn Gordon, BCH, CI

So think as if your every thought were to be etched in fire upon the sky. For so, in truth, it is.
So speak as if the entire world were but a single ear intent on hearing what you say.
And so, in truth, it is.
Mikhail Naimy*

Language is so instinctual that we often don't stop to think about it. And yet it is so powerful that it affects our lives to the very core. In hypnosis, this is particularly significant. Every hypnosis word we use has meaning. The words we choose and how we say them reveal our thoughts and our intentions and affect others profoundly. Hypnosis is a verbal art form, and it's important for us to take a good look at our canvas.

It's well known that when we describe something to a person in hypnosis, that description can become a deep suggestion: "Your hand is becoming very light, floating in the air like a balloon." Other suggestions are powerful, "You feel very peaceful." or "Your body is healing perfectly." But this kind of well-known verbal skill is just the tip of the iceberg with hypnosis. Let's dive even deeper. Let's take a look at authoritarian vs. permissive language; at the use of negativities; at regional language differences; at the use of only visual language, and more.

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Participants were administered a standard tape-recorded version of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) and then a modified version of the HGSHS:A response booklet that asked each participant to report which suggested behaviors they performed during the procedures. These response booklets were altered to include 3 additional suggestions not offered during the hypnotic procedures. Half the participants were administered the questions in the response booklet in the standard format ("I performed the suggested behavior" versus "I did not perform the suggested behavior"). The remaining participants were offered a third alternative to each question ("I do not remember this occurring"). As predicted, participants offered the 3rd alternative were significantly less likely to report performing actions that were never suggested during the procedures. Further, these participants reported performing fewer suggested behaviors (i.e., reported passing fewer of the true Harvard items) than participants in the standard 2-alternative condition.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):198-213. Eisen ML, Oustinovskaya M, Kistorian R, Morgan DY, Mickes L. California State University, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Previous studies on the role of hypnotizability in postural control indicate that the body sway of subjects with high or low hypnotizability to hypnosis is differentially modulated by eye closure. The aim of this study was to investigate whether hypnotizability also modulates the postural response to electrical vestibular stimulation and to head rotation in nonhypnotized individuals. The center of pressure (CoP) displacements were monitored in highs and lows standing on a stabilometric platform with closed eyes during basal conditions and electrical vestibular stimulation in 3 different positions of the head. Results showed that the CoP stimulus-locked displacements as well as the CoP mean position, area, and mean velocity were similar in highs and lows, but only in lows did the head position modulate the mean velocity. This finding might reflect a difference in sensory-motor integration between the 2 groups.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):170-84. Santarcangelo EL, Scattina E, Orsini P, Bruschini L, Ghelarducci B, Manzoni D. University of Pisa, Italy.

Paula Shaw is an expert in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Be Set Free Fast (BSFF), Tapas Accupressure Technique (TAT), Chakra Balancing, Allergy Antidotes, healing gemstones, fragrances, Reiki, meditation and visualization. She also uses therapeutic breathing, her proprietary Conscious Healing and Repatterning Therapy, (CHART)™ and On-the-Body Frequency Imprinting Systems™. The goal of every session for Paula is to identify the client's negative patterns that are creating their issues and shift them within that session.

As director of outreach for the Grief Recovery Institute, Paula instituted the first weekly grief recovery support groups in the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys. She then entered private practice and developed Beyond Loss, a grief support and training program for lay people who are grieving, nurses, social workers, and therapists. This program provides training in the skills to complete grief and/or work with sick, dying and grieving people.

Paula's innovative program Kids 'N' Crisis, empowers teachers and school personnel to deal effectively with the emotional impact of crisis on children. It has been successfully taught in many different school settings.

She has also worked extensively in the creative community with writers, producers, directors and performers, helping them to achieve their goals through clearing the energetic patterns that cause creative blocks.

Paula Shaw is a graduate of Long Beach State University, where she received a BA degree. She later attended Loyola Marymount University where she advanced her studies to become a Drug and Alcohol Abuse Specialist and a Certified Grief Specialist. Grief became a central focus of her work, because it is a critical issue in addictive and dysfunctional behavior.

For more information visit: www.PaulaShaw.net

Data from 26 participants in a case series of hypnotic analgesia for chronic pain were examined to determine the long-term effects of hypnosis treatment. Statistically significant decreases in average daily pain intensity, relative to pretreatment values, were observed at posttreatment and at 3- and 9-month follow-up but not at 6- or 12-month follow-up. The percent of participants who reported clinically meaningful decreases in pain were 27%, 19%, 19%, and 23%, at the 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up points, respectively. Moreover, at 12-months posttreatment, 81% of the sample reported that they still used the self-hypnosis skills learned in treatment. Overall, the results indicate that about 20% of the sample obtained substantial and lasting long-term reductions in average daily pain following hypnosis treatment and that many more continue to use self-hypnosis up to 12 months following treatment.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):156-69. Jensen MP, Barber J, Hanley MA, Engel JM, Romano JM, Cardenas DD, Kraft GH, Hoffman AJ, Patterson DR. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

by Paul Flak, Ph.D.

In my exploration of thought processes it has become apparent to me that the way we structure our thinking makes huge differences to how we think and what we are capable of. While this may seem like a subtle or unnecessary thing to think about as we process information it becomes more influential when we consider the route of efficacy.

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The effects of a mindfulness-based procedure, called Meditation on the Soles of the Feet, were evaluated as a cognitive-behavioral intervention for physical aggression in 6 offenders with mild intellectual disabilities. They were taught a simple meditation technique that required them to shift their attention and awareness from the precursors of aggression to the soles of their feet, a neutral point on their body. Results showed that physical and verbal aggression decreased substantially, no Stat medication or physical restraint was required, and there were no staff or peer injuries. Benefit-cost analysis of lost days of work and cost of medical and rehabilitation because of injury caused by these individuals in both the 12 months prior to and following mindfulness-based training showed a 95.7% reduction in costs. This study suggests that this procedure may be a clinically effective and cost-effective method of enabling adult offenders with intellectual disabilities to control their aggression.

Behav Modif. 2008 Mar 24 Singh NN, Lancioni GE, Winton AS, Singh AN, Adkins AD, Singh J. ONE Research Institute.

This paper integrates some Buddhist moral values, attitudes and self-cultivation techniques into a discussion of the ethics of cognitive enhancement technologies - in particular, pharmaceutical enhancements. Many Buddhists utilize meditation techniques that are both integral to their practice and are believed to enhance the cognitive and affective states of experienced practitioners. Additionally, Mah?y?na Buddhism's teaching on skillful means permits a liberal use of methods or techniques in Buddhist practice that yield insight into our selfnature or aid in alleviating or eliminating duhkha (i.e. dissatisfaction). These features of many, if not most, Buddhist traditions will inform much of the Buddhist assessment of pharmaceutical enhancements offered in this paper. Some Buddhist concerns about the effects and context of the use of pharmaceutical enhancements will be canvassed in the discussion. Also, the author will consider Buddhist views of the possible harms that may befall human and nonhuman research subjects, interference with a recipient's karma, the artificiality of pharmaceutical enhancements, and the possible motivations or intentions of healthy individuals pursuing pharmacological enhancement. Perhaps surprisingly, none of these concerns will adequately ground a reflective Buddhist opposition to the further development and continued use of pharmaceutical enhancements, either in principle or in practice. The author argues that Buddhists, from at least certain traditions - particularly Mah?y?na Buddhist traditions - should advocate the development or use of pharmaceutical enhancements if a consequence of their use is further insight into our self-nature or the reduction or alleviation of duhkha.

Dev World Bioeth. 2008 Feb 28 Fenton A. Dalhousie University, Canada.

Buddhist psychology is increasingly informing psychotherapeutic practice in the western world. This article: (a) provides a general background to Buddhist tradition; (b) outlines the central tenets of Buddhist psychology, with particular emphasis on the practice of meditation; (c) provides an overview of research into the effects of Buddhist practice on the brain; (d) outlines the relationships between Buddhist psychology and existing forms of psychotherapy; (e) provides an overview of Buddhist approaches to specific psychiatric disorders and the psychological aspects of physical disorders; and (f) discusses the emergence of Buddhist psychotherapy in western societies and explores likely future developments. There is a need for further research into the neuroscientific correlates of Buddhist concepts of mind and the evidence-base for the use of specific techniques (e.g., meditation) in psychotherapeutic practice.

Transcult Psychiatry. 2008 Mar;45(1):5-30. Kelly BD. University College Dublin. brendankelly35@gmail.com.

Conventional suggestion-based tests of hypnotizability have been criticized because they confound hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestibility. One way around this might be to measure hypnotizability in terms of differences in suggestibility before and after hypnotic induction. However, analysis of data from a 1966 classic study by Hilgard and Tart confirms that difference scores are subject to statistical and methodological problems. Simple verbal hypnotic depth scales are presented as a useful alternative. They correlate well with conventional suggestion-based measures and enable the presence of hypnosis to be indexed independently of formal hypnotic induction procedures. Criticisms of depth scales are addressed, and normative data for the Long Stanford Scale of hypnotic depth are presented, along with data lending empirical support for the construct validity of depth reports.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):119-42. Wagstaff GF, Cole JC, Brunas-Wagstaff J. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

by Marilyn Gordon, BCH, CI

Sandra was getting fed up with her habit of buying lattes every day at the local coffee house chain. They were loaded with caffeine and sugar, and she went everyday like clockwork to get a large fix of the legal upper that coursed though her body like a speeding locomotive. She was gaining weight, and she was beginning to worry that she might not be able to let go of this stimulant that had a major hold on her.

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Rochelle Jaffe, M.S., Director of the ASHLAND SCHOOL OF HYPNOTHERAPY, is a certified hypnotherapist and hypnotist examiner with the National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists, and the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners. . She is on the adjunct faculty of the Psychology Department of Southern Oregon University.  She has been a counselor and hypnotherapist for 15 years, working with diverse issues including anxiety and depression, trauma recovery and illness- helping those who work with her to develop new skills, and to approach their practices and the lives of their clients with a deeper sense of wisdom, creativity, and enjoyment.

Rochelle is a specialist in medical hypnotherapy, helping people with challenges to their health and related issues, including preparation for surgery, recovery, pain and stress reduction, and the emotional and spiritual components of injury and long-term illness. She has offered hypnotherapy to Hospice patients, and consultation on the use of trance in pain and end-of-life issues to nurses and social workers in Hospice Care.

She is highly experienced in reducing anxiety, panic and stress, and in resolving childhood issues through hypnotherapy.

Rochelle is a gifted teacher, helping her students to learn the techniques and skills of hypnotherapy, as well as  their own sense of confidence and personal style.

For more information, visit http://www.ashlandschoolofhypnotherapy.com

The development of studies on neuroimaging applied to hypnosis and to the study of pain not only helps to validate the existence of a hypnotic state but also to ratify its therapeutic effects. These studies also enable us to understand how hypnosis is effective on the cortical level. It also helps us see, from another perspective, the mechanisms of pain leading perhaps to a different definition of pain. This article develops the latest knowledge in the domain of hypnosis and pain, and approaches the clinical practices and their applications in the management of pain in children.

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2008 Apr;35(4):437-46. Wood C, Bioy A. Pain Unit, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris.

Objective: To examine published evidence on the effectiveness of mind-body interventions during pregnancy on perceived stress, mood, and perinatal outcomes. Data sources: Computerized searches of PubMed, Cinahl, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library. Study Selection: Twelve out of 64 published intervention studies between 1980 and February 2007 of healthy, adult pregnant women met criteria for review. Data extraction and synthesis: Studies were categorized by type of mind-body modality used. Progressive muscle relaxation was the most common intervention. Other studies used a multimodal psychoeducation approach or a yoga and meditation intervention. The research contained methodological problems, primarily absence of a randomized control group or failure to adequately control confounding variables. Nonetheless, there was modest evidence for the efficacy of mind-body modalities during pregnancy. Treatment group outcomes included higher birthweight, shorter length of labor, fewer instrument-assisted births, and reduced perceived stress and anxiety. Conclusions: There is evidence that pregnant women have health benefits from mind-body therapies used in conjunction with conventional prenatal care. Further research is necessary to build on these studies in order to predict characteristics of subgroups that might benefit from mind-body practices and examine cost effectiveness of these interventions on perinatal outcomes.

J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2008 Mar-Apr;37(2):165-75. Beddoe AE, Lee KA. School of Nursing, San Jose State University, CA, USA.

Subjects with high (Highs) and low (Lows) susceptibility to hypnosis show differences in the sensory-motor integration for postural control and in the cardiovascular response to stress and experimental pain. Aim of the experiment was to assess whether the cardiac response to gravity-related stimulation depending on changes in the body position were different in the two groups. Thus, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were evaluated in sitting and upright position in Highs and Lows. Position-related HRV changes were studied in the time (statistical indexes, Poincaré Plot) and frequency (spectral analysis) domain. Results indicated that upright stance was associated with similar changes in heart rate and different modulation of HRV in the two groups. The association of time and frequency domain analyses allowed hypothesizing different control mechanisms as responsible for the cardiac response to upright stance in Highs and Lows, likely due to a different role of the Very Low Frequency (VLF) spectral component of HRV in the two groups. The results are in line with previous findings indicating a natural protection of Highs against cardiovascular events and suggest that the Highs' cardiac function might be less impaired by microgravity than the Lows' one.

Brain Res Bull. 2008 Mar 28;75(5):692-7. Santarcangelo EL, Balocchi R, Scattina E, Manzoni D, Bruschini L, Ghelarducci B, Varanini M. Department of Human Physiology, University of Pisa, Via San Zeno 31, 56127 Pisa, Italy.

Debi Livingston is a dynamic and charismatic teacher and speaker who brings incredible amusement, depth of knowledge and awareness to share with her audiences, students and clients. With over 25 years experience as an intuitive counselor and spiritual teacher, she helps individuals increase their self-awareness and to grow in their personal and professional lives.

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Despite the generally held view that alcohol is an unspecific pharmacological agent, recent molecular pharmacology studies demonstrated that alcohol has only a few known primary targets. These are the NMDA, GABA(A), glycine, 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 (serotonin) and nicotinic ACh receptors as well as L-type Ca(2+) channels and G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying K(+) channels. Following this first hit of alcohol on specific targets in the brain, a second wave of indirect effects on a variety of neurotransmitter/neuropeptide systems is initiated that leads subsequently to the typical acute behavioural effects of alcohol, ranging from disinhibition to sedation and even hypnosis, with increasing concentrations of alcohol. Besides these acute pharmacodynamic aspects of alcohol, we discuss the neurochemical substrates that are involved in the initiation and maintenance phase of an alcohol drinking behaviour. Finally, addictive behaviour towards alcohol as measured by alcohol-seeking and relapse behaviour is reviewed in the context of specific neurotransmitter/neuropeptide systems and their signalling pathways. The activity of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system plays a crucial role during the initiation phase of alcohol consumption. Following long-term, chronic alcohol consumption virtually all brain neurotransmission seems to be affected, making it difficult to define which of the systems contributes the most to the transition from controlled to compulsive alcohol use. However, compulsive alcohol drinking is characterized by a decrease in the function of the reward neurocircuitry and a recruitment of antireward/stress mechanisms comes into place, with a hypertrophic corticotropin-releasing factor system and a hyperfunctional glutamatergic system being the most important ones.

Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Mar 3 Vengeliene V, Bilbao A, Molander A, Spanagel R. 1Department of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.

by Dennis K. Chong & Jennifer K. Smith Chong

It was Neuro-Linguistic Programming, NLP, that first proposed a formula by which to understand any state of consciousness and by extension, any given state and therefore, any given ontology.

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The skin and the brain interact through psychoneuroimmunoendocrine mechanisms and through behaviors that can strongly influence the initiation or flaring of skin disorders. OBJECTIVE: To obtain knowledge of these factors to assist in designing treatment plans for specific skin disorders. METHODS: Psychocutaneous disease literature for the past 80 years was reviewed. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Therapeutic options include standard psychotropic drugs and alternative herbs and supplements, the placebo effect, suggestion, cognitive-behavioral methods, biofeedback, and hypnosis. When simple measures fail to produce the desired results, combinations of drugs or addition of nonpharmacological therapies may produce better results. Psychophysiological skin disorders may respond well to nonpharmacological therapies that counteract stress, supplemented when indicated by anxiolytic or antidepressant drugs. Treatment of primary psychiatric disorders that affect the skin often results in improvement of the associated skin disorders. Psychiatric disorders secondary to skin disorders may also require treatment.

Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2008 Apr;9(6):973-85. Shenefelt PD. Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA. pshenefe@health.usf.edu

The aim of the present study was to assess the efficiency of conscious hypnosis on patient cooperation. The subjects were 30 patients (14 females and 16 males) with a skeletal Class II division 1 malocclusion, divided into two equal groups, a control and a study group. The mean age was 10.78 +/- 1.06 years for the hypnosis, and 10.07 +/- 1.09 years for the control group. Both groups were treated with cervical headgear containing a timer module. The patients were also asked to record their actual wear time on timetables. The hypnosis group patients were motivated with conscious hypnosis while the control group were given verbal motivation by their orthodontist. The timer modules were read at every visit and compared with the timetables. Analysis of variance was used to determine the differences in measurements at each time point. For comparison of the groups, an independent t-test was used. A statistically significant decrease (P < 0.05) in headgear wear was observed in the control group from the first to the sixth month; however, the difference in the hypnosis group was not significant. This result indicates that conscious hypnosis is an effective method for improving orthodontic patient cooperation. There was a low correlation between actual headgear wear indicated by the patient and that recorded by the timing modules, which showed that, timetables are not consistent tools for measuring patient cooperation.

Eur J Orthod. 2008 Feb 8 Trakyai G, Sayinsu K, Esref Müezzinoglu A, Arun T. Department of Orthodontics.