This paper reviews the evidence for changes of Meditation on body and brain physiology and for clinical effectiveness in disorders of psychiatry. The aim of Meditation is to reduce or eliminate irrelevant thought processes through training of internalised attention, thought to lead to physical and mental relaxation, stress reduction, psycho-emotional stability and enhanced concentration. Physiological evidence shows a reduction with Meditation of stress-related autonomic and endocrine measures, while neuroimaging studies demonstrate the functional up-regulation of brain regions of affect regulation and attention control. Clinical studies show some evidence for the effectiveness of Meditation in disorders of affect, anxiety and attention. The combined evidence from neurobiological and clinical studies seems promising.

However, a more thorough understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of action and clinical effectiveness of the different Meditative practices is needed before Meditative practices can be leveraged in the prevention and intervention of mental illness.

Biol Psychol. 2009 Sep;82(1):1-11. Epub 2009 Apr 23. Rubia K. Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College University London, UK. k.rubia@iop.kcl.ac.uk

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional bowel disorder with symptoms of abdominal pain and disturbed defecation experienced by 10% of U.S. adults, results in significant disability, impaired quality of life, and health-care burden. Conventional medical care focusing on pharmacological approaches, diet, and lifestyle management has been partially effective in controlling symptoms. Behavioral treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis, are promising. This paper describes an on-going feasibility study to assess the efficacy of mindfulness training, a behavioral treatment involving directing and sustaining attention to present-moment experience, for the treatment of IBS. METHODS/DESIGN: The study design involves randomization of adult women with IBS according to Rome II criteria, to either an eight-week mindfulness training group (based on a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction [MBSR] format) or a previously validated IBS social-support group as an attention-control condition. The primary hypothesis is that, compared to Support Group participants, those in the Mindfulness Program will demonstrate significant improvement in IBS symptoms as measured by the IBS Symptom Severity Scale [1]. DISCUSSION: 214 individuals have been screened for eligibility, of whom 148 were eligible for the study. Of those, 87 were enrolled, with 21 withdrawing after having given consent. 66 have completed or are in the process of completing the interventions. It is feasible to undertake a rigorous randomized clinical trial of mindfulness training for people with IBS, using a standardized MBSR protocol adapted for those experiencing IBS, compared to a control social-support group previously utilized in IBS studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT00680693.

BMC Complement Altern Med. 2009 Jul 28;9:24. Gaylord SA, Whitehead WE, Coble RS, Faurot KR, Palsson OS, Garland EL, Frey W, Mann JD. Program on Integrative Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. susan_gaylord@med.unc.edu

by Joyce-Anne Locking

Just after I wrote the article saying life changes take time and hard work, I watched a TV interview on life transformations. The lady being interviewed was saying life transformations might possibly be done instantly, effortlessly and joyfully.

It seems our belief system is the thing that governs our lives and sometimes all we need do is remove negative thought from our beliefs and our lives will be instantly transformed. NLP (neurolinguistic programming) trainers teach about words we tell ourselves. The self-talk we give ourselves is what we believe in or at least, what we come to believe. By changing the self-talk to a different programming or patterning is like changing channels on TV. Suddenly we are in a different zone and we have a whole new set of choices. New doors open and we almost instantly become on a different path.

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We examined two potential correlates of hypnotic suggestibility: dissociation and cognitive inhibition. Dissociation is the foundation of two of the major theories of hypnosis and other theories commonly postulate that hypnotic responding is a result of attentional abilities (including inhibition). Participants were administered the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form C. Under the guise of an unrelated study, 180 of these participants also completed: a version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale that is normally distributed in non-clinical populations; a latent inhibition task, a spatial negative priming task, and a memory task designed to measure negative priming. The data ruled out even moderate correlations between hypnotic suggestibility and all the measures of dissociation and cognitive inhibition overall, though they also indicated gender differences. The results are a challenge for existing theories of hypnosis.

Conscious Cogn. 2009 Dec;18(4):837-47. Epub 2009 Aug 25. Dienes Z, Brown E, Hutton S, Kirsch I, Mazzoni G, Wright DB. School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK. dienes@sussex.ac.uk

This study sought to assess the effectiveness of individualized homeopathic treatment on dermatological complaints in a public outpatient clinic. METHODS: Children and adults spontaneously seeking for homeopathic treatment for dermatological complaints were prescribed single individualized remedies and followed up for a minimum of 3 months; assessment was clinical and recorded graphically. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients met the inclusion criteria. Outcomes were positive (59%); no effect (4%); drop-out (37%), from which 6% was due to homeopathic aggravation. No manifestations of suppression were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Outcome studies are useful to point out to the effectiveness of individualized homeopathic treatment in dermatological complaints. Outcomes suggest that actions focusing on pathological categories do not lead to homeopathic suppression.

Homeopathy. 2009 Jul;98(3):149-53. Waisse-Priven S, Jurj G, Lima Thomaz LC, Tierno SA, Filho WL, Sos A, de Souza MF. Associação Paulista de Homeopatia, Outpatient Clinic, São Paulo, Brazil.

Diana Fosha, PhD, the director of the AEDP Institute, is the developer of AEDP, a healing-based, transformation-oriented model of psycho–therapeutic treatment. She is the author of The Transforming Power of Affect: A Model for Accelerated Change (Basic Books, 2000), and of numerous articles on healing transformational processes in experiential psychotherapy and trauma treatment.

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Gary Craig has recenly announced his retirement and the discontinuance of his EFT certification program. He will also be shutting down www.emofree.com. His retirement will be effective on January 15, 2010, reportedly due to health issues.

OBJECTIVE: This case report describes the effect of exercise-based chiropractic treatment on chronic and intractable low back pain complicated by lumbar disk extrusion. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 47-year-old male firefighter experienced chronic, unresponsive low back pain. Pre- and posttreatment outcome analysis was performed on numeric (0-10) pain scale, functional rating index, and the low back pain Oswestry data. Secondary outcome assessments included a 1-rep maximum leg press, balancing times, push-ups and sit-ups the patient performed in 60 seconds, and radiographic analysis. INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME: The patient was treated with Pettibon manipulative and rehabilitative techniques. At 4 weeks, spinal decompression therapy was incorporated. After 12 weeks of treatment, the patient's self-reported numeric pain scale had reduced from 6 to 1. There was also overall improvement in muscular strength, balance times, self-rated functional status, low back Oswestry scores, and lumbar lordosis using pre- and posttreatment radiographic information. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive, exercise-based chiropractic management may contribute to an improvement of physical fitness and to restoration of function, and may be a protective factor for low back injury. This case suggests promising interventions with otherwise intractable low back pain using a multimodal chiropractic approach that includes isometric strengthening, neuromuscular reeducation, and lumbar spinal decompression therapy.

J Chiropr Med. 2008 Dec;7(4):146-54. Schwab MJ. Private practice, Schwab Chiropractic Clinic, Eau Claire, WI 54701.

by Joe Rubino, PhD

Research points to the fact that each child suffers an early assault to his or her self-esteem at a young age, typically between birth and 6 years of age. The child's initial realization that he or she is imperfect and somehow does not measure up, is flawed, or is not worthy of love, happiness, rich relationships, abundance, and fulfillment comes as a result of this early traumatic episode when the child either buys into the disparaging view of another or creates an interpretation that he or she is defective in some important way, even though no such conclusion was offered or intended by another.

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This article considers four broad classes of psychological techniques and their effects on fibromyalgia (FM) pain. A literature search identified 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and operant-behavioral therapy (OBT), five relaxation RCTs, five biofeedback RCTs, five hypnotherapy RCTs, and two writing intervention RCTs. For psychoanalytic therapy in FM, no RCTs have been published. The highest effect sizes (r = 0.53-2.14) for pain reduction are found after CBT and OBT group treatments. Relaxation as a single treatment has not been proven useful. Hypnotherapy and writing intervention have demonstrated mild treatment effects, whereas psychological treatment is effective in FM pain. Considering the heterogeneity of FM, the promising effects of matched interventions such as CBT and OBT with pharmacotherapy, exercise, and other treatment domains require further research.

Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2009 Dec;11(6):443-50. Thieme K, Gracely RH. Center for Neurosensory Disorders, University of North Carolina, CB#7280, 3330 Thurston Building, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. kati_thieme@dentistry.unc.edu

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A yoga practice involving cycles of yoga postures and supine rest (called cyclic meditation) was previously shown to improve performance in attention tasks more than relaxation in the corpse posture (shavasana). This was ascribed to reduced anxiety, though this was not assessed. METHODS: In fifty-seven male volunteers (group average age +/- S.D., 26.6 +/- 4.5 years) the immediate effect of two yoga relaxation techniques was studied on memory and state anxiety. All participants were assessed before and after (i) Cyclic meditation (CM) practiced for 22:30 minutes on one day and (ii) an equal duration of Supine rest (SR) or the corpse posture (shavasana), on another day. Sections of the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) were used to assess; (i) attention and concentration (digit span forward and backward), and (ii) associate learning. State anxiety was assessed using Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in the scores of all sections of the WMS studied after both CM and SR, but, the magnitude of change was more after CM compared to after SR. The state anxiety scores decreased after both CM and SR, with a greater magnitude of decrease after CM. There was no correlation between percentage change in memory scores and state anxiety for either session. CONCLUSION: A cyclical combination of yoga postures and supine rest in CM improved memory scores immediately after the practice and decreased state anxiety more than rest in a classical yoga relaxation posture (shavasana).

Biopsychosoc Med. 2009 Aug 13;3(1):8. Subramanya P, Telles S.

by David Kohlhagen LPC, NBCCH

Part 1: A Case Study

The Buddy System in Force of Habit

For my book Force of Habit: Get Well and Stay Well by Clearing up Your Bad Habits of Mind, Body and Spirit I developed a "buddy system" wherein people can train a friend to facilitate their self-healing. Solo self-healing has its limitations. The Force of Habit Buddy System requires one subject--whose job is to have an issue or "bad habit" to be cleared up--and one listener, or buddy whose job is to facilitate the subject in staying focused and on topic. In Force of Habit (FOH) terms a "bad habit" is any undesirable mental, emotional, physical, health or spiritual tendency or condition.

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Full Title: Use of sonographic elastography of the masseter muscles for optimizing massage pressure: a preliminary study

To examine the stiffness of the masseter muscle using sonographic elastography and to investigate its relationship with the most comfortable massage pressure in the healthy volunteers. In 16 healthy volunteers (10 men and 6 women), the Masseter Stiffness Index (MSI) was measured using EUB-7000 real-time tissue elastography. They underwent massages at three kinds of pressures using the Oral Rehabilitation Robot (WAO-1). A subjective evaluation regarding the comfort of each massage was recorded on the visual analogue scale. Elastography was also performed in two patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction with the myofascial pain. The mean MSI of the right and left muscles in the healthy volunteers were 0.85 +/- 0.44 and 0.74 +/- 0.35 respectively. There was no significant difference between the right and left MSI in the healthy volunteers. The MSI was related to massage pressure at which the healthy men felt most comfortable. The two temporomandibular disorder patients had a large laterality in the MSI. The MSI was related to the most comfortable massage pressure in the healthy men. The MSI can be one index for determining the massage pressure.

J Oral Rehabil. 2009 Sep;36(9):627-35. Epub 2009 Jul 7. Ariji Y, Katsumata A, Hiraiwa Y, Izumi M, Iida Y, Goto M, Sakuma S, Ogi N, Kurita K, Ariji E. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan. yoshiko@dpc.agu.ac.jp

Watch as a tumor is dissolved using Chi Lel Chi Kung. This healing was in the film "101 Miracles of Natural Healing".

Neuroimaging studies of acupuncture have demonstrated extensive signal attenuations in the core regions of a "default mode" network as well as signal potentiations in the regions of a "central-executive" network. We proposed that this acupuncture-related dichotomy may represent the anticorrelation in these intrinsic brain networks showing spontaneous fluctuations during rest. According to a plentiful clinical report, acupuncture can provide pain relief beyond the time it is being administrated; therefore, imaging its sustained effect (rather than acute effect) on the brain networks may further help elucidate the mechanisms by which acupuncture achieves its therapeutic effects. As an interface, the anterior insula (AI) has recently been shown to be a network hub, which initiates dynamic switching between these intrinsic networks. Here, we attempt to explore how acupuncture can modulate spontaneous coherences of these resting networks anchored by the AI. Using a spontaneous activity detection approach, we identified an AI-related dichotomy showing spontaneous activations in the CEN along with wide spontaneous deactivations located exclusively in the DMN. Following verum acupuncture, but not sham control, there was a prominently enhanced dichotomy in the CEN and DMN networks. More importantly, a long-lasting effect of acupuncture could further modulate intrinsic coherences of the wide interoceptive-autonomic areas, including the paralimbic regions and brainstem nuclei. These findings suggested that acupuncture may not only enhance the dichotomy of the anticorrelated resting networks, but also modulate a larger spatio-temporal extent of spontaneous activities in the salient interoceptive-autonomic network, contributing to potential actions in the endogenous pain-modulation circuits and homeostatic control mechanisms.

Brain Res. 2009 Jul 7;1279:37-49. Epub 2009 May 8. Bai L, Qin W, Tian J, Dong M, Pan X, Chen P, Dai J, Yang W, Liu Y. Life Science Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi' an, China.