Mind/body medicine: a report on a sub-topic of the North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine on 24-27 May 2006 in Edmonton, Canada.

摘要

The association between psychological and biologic markers of stress has become subject to increasing academic debate. On 24-27 May 2006, the North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine was held in Edmonton, Canada. Various panel discussions commented on the complexity in conceptualization and measurement of stress. This report focuses on specific aspects of mind/body medicine that were presented, and reflects some of the challenges in this research.A study presented by J. Zaki et al. (Mind/Body Medical Institute) examined the network of brain regions activated by the relaxation response (RR) in healthy individuals with no prior meditation practice. Significant differences by MRI in brain activation were noted in regions of the brain corresponding with a previous study of long-term kundalini yoga practitioners. As a result, this study suggested that functional changes in the brain in long-term meditation may be due to repeated induction of these regions.