The vagus nerve connection to placebo effect makes sense to me because I've heard that it's connected to fight or flight, begins in solar plexus, ends in bottom of pelvic floor. Personally I've observed that when fear of death arises, usually there's a tightness in my solar plexus. I know of one therapist who studied a technique that involved relaxing the pelvic floor and I personally know of techniques that involve putting the attention on the solar plexus area. I'm glad that we're learning about the importance of this area.
But when you say that some are more susceptible than others, what does that mean exactly? That they experience more objectively observable benefits and for longer periods of time? That their vagal tone index improves most quickly but then also returns to original state most quickly? Definitely a rich angle on the research. Some fMRI work could also be done. See what parts of the brain are becoming active and when, etc. What comes to mind is Tara Bennett Goleman explaining the brain neural pathways like ruts in a dirt road. The more one thinks the same thought, the deeper that rut gets and the more likely one is to think that thought again. Conversely, even ONE time thinking a different thought or taking a different course of action allows new neural pathways to be activated. Could be especially helpful with addictions. Extending this metaphor, I'd say what Paul Wong's neutralizing process does is fill up those ruts in the road so that all neural pathways are equally open to being followed. ________________________________ From: turquoiseb <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 10:28 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Study: Participating in MahaKumbh improves physical and mental well-being --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: > > Yikes! Then maybe I didn't really understand what Xeno was > saying. Xeno, what did you mean? My interpretation was that > the placebo effect can enter an individual's system by many > avenues, meaning of the individuality: ego, emotions, > thoughts, physical imbalances, environmental factors, etc. And if he did so he is correct. The modern understand of that which triggers the placebo effect is that it could be pretty much *anything*. A person wearing a white coat, a person handing you a pill to take, whether the pill is inert or real, even the language used by a supposed physician or tester, and whether or not they have a friendly "beside manner" or not. Despite the way that authfriend is trying to mislead you here, *anything* that triggers a belief in the subject that their condition -- whether it be physical, mental, or spiritual -- will improve as a result of what is offered (even if what is offered is a technique, such as TM), there is a high probability that for many people, it *will* improve. At the very least, temporarily. Science has not yet completely pinned down the mechanics of what makes one person more susceptible to the placebo effect than another person, but they are working on it furiously. At least one study published in the journal Psychological Health indicates that it may have something to do with the vagus nerve, and the condition of one's vagal tone index. Another study published by PLoSOne shows that it may be genetic, and a result of the catechol- O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, which regulates dopamine production. But you can be sure they're working on the issue, because at present the placebo effect is costing pharmaceutical companies billions of dollars per year. They can no longer get new drugs released, because they cannot prove that they have any more effect than an inert sugar pill -- a placebo. Even drugs that have been on the market for years are now unable to replicate the original research that allowed them to be marketed, because these now-common and commonly- prescribed drugs can't perform any better than a placebo, either. So they're working furiously to try to understand the placebo effect, and to figure out who is more prone to it than others, so that they can use this information when finding subjects for drug and psychological trials. The idea is -- eliminate those with a high propensity to imagine good effects from a non-drug (those sensitive or more prone to the placebo effect) and form both your drug groups and your placebo groups from a population that is *not* as sensitive to placebos, and drug testing might get back on track again. But basically *anything* can be a placebo. Something you hear at a lecture, something you read, some "technique" someone tells you to do, or even some "pilgrimage" someone tells you to take. Those who are placebo-prone will get some benefit from it, whether there is any legitimate reason for the benefit or not. THAT is what I believe is happening with the Kumbh Mela. It is *classic* placebo, with centuries of PR touting the sup- posed benefits of going there and bathing in sewage at the "propitious" times of year. And I say this knowing that *I* get high and perceive benefits from going to places of power myself. Part of me would like to believe that the benefits I perceive from doing so has something to do with the nature of the place, but another part of me knows that it is more likely a placebo effect. Either way, I'll still keep going to those places, because I like the effect... placebo effect or otherwise. > ________________________________ > From: authfriend > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 9:00 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Study: Participating in MahaKumbh improves > physical and mental well-being > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: > > > > Xeno, I appreciate especially when you say below, "...the many > > avenues by which it can enter..." I'd never thought of placebo > > in that way. > > Nor should you. Xeno is using the term so broadly and > loosely that it gets diluted to the point of > meaninglessness. > > Lourdes is a reasonable example; people go there with the > expectation of being cured of a specific ailment, which > either occurs or does not occur. > > Kumbh Mela is not, at least as the effects of attendance > were described in the study that started this discussion. > > > Research on activities with spiritual themes historically > > have tended to be sloppy with regard to evaluating the > > presence and strength of the placebo effect, and the many > > avenues by which it can enter and confound results.
