Test:1

Imagine you are allergic to the oil of the Japanese lacquer tree- so allergic that the brush of a leaf against your skin provokes an angry rash. Strapping a blindfold over your eyes, a scientist tells you she’s going to rub your right arm with lacquer leaf and your left arm with the innocuous leaf of a chestnut tree. The rubbing commences, and before long your right arm is covered with burning itchy welts. Your left side feels fine. No surprise until you learn that your left arm- not the right- is the one that got lacquered! How would you explain that!

Test:2

Or imagine that Parkinson’s disease had reduced your walk to a shuffle and left your hands too shaky to grasp a pencil. You enroll in a study and receive an experimental surgical treatment, which dramatically improves both your gait and your grip. You’re ready to declare it a miracle of modern medicine, when you discover that the operation was a sham. The surgeon merely drilled a small hole in your skull and then patched it.

Using PET scans researchers compared their brains with those of patients who received an active treatment. As expected, the active intervention caused a significant rise in dopamine- the neurotransmitter that people with Parkinson’s lack. But the patients who improved on placebo experienced a similar dopamine surge.

What does all these mean? What do the findings imply?

Well, this implies that the relationship between emotion and health is turning out to be more interesting, and more important than most of us could have imagined. Viewed through the lens of 21^st century science- anxiety, alienation, and hopelessness are not just feelings. Neither are love, serenity and  optimism. All of them are physiological states that affect our health just as clearly as obesity or physical fitness.

In 2005, the federal government’s five year old Integrated Neural Immune Program spent around $16m on mind-body research, and private foundations spent millions more. At least, one leading managed-care organization, HIP USA, had started to cover mind-body practices, and Medicare reimburses for certain relaxation techniques administered by psychologist. Hospitals for their part are opening mind-body clinics- and yoga classes are spreading from health clubs into shopping malls. According to a government survey, nearly half of all Americans used mind-body interventions in 2002. The respondents embraced practices ranging from deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation to meditation, hypnosis and guided imagery.

A research at Harvard suggests that the relaxation response- the deep sense of calm we can achieve through yoga, prayer or simple deep breathing exercises- can help counter the effects of chronic stress. 'We now believe that the body produces nitric oxide when deeply relaxed, and that this molecule acts as an antidote to cortisol and other potentially toxic stress hormones.'

These are the results of the study in regards with the connection between mind and body, which was included in the Issue of 27^th September of 2004 in Newsweek- where the cover story was 'The New Science of Mind and Body', mainly focusing on the effects of mind on our health as well as our body.