Healing Brain Seminar: October 1980

We have radically underestimated our sensitivity to the social and physical environment as well as human capabilities for self-healing. Recent advances in the brain and behavioral sciences have revealed that interpersonal interactions can markedly influence physiological responses and that social support and friends may modify disease susceptibility. We are also learning more about the lasting effects of nutrition on brain development and how hypnosis and biofeedback may be used to mobilize the healing potential of the brain.

These and other findings of major clinical importance will be explored at a two-day symposium. A distinguished faculty of researchers and clinicians will provide through lectures, panel discussions, and questions and answers an up-to-date review of emerging trends in behavioral medicine.

FACULTY

Philip A. Berger, M.D., is associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. His main research has been in the role of endorphins and mental health, especially the relationship to schizophrenia. He is the author of many journal articles. Among his books are Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Behavioral Neurochemistry.

Thomas H. Budzynski, Ph.D., is clinical director of the Biofeedback Institute of Denver and clinical assistant professor of psychology, University of Colorado Medical Center. He is past president of the Biofeedback Society of America and is author of numerous clinical studies on biofeedback.

Marian C. Diamond, M.A., Ph.D., is professor of anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley and former associate dean of the College of Letters and Science. Her research has centered on how the structure of the nervous system can be modified by changes in the environment. She is also currently developing a school health education program to enhance body awareness in children.

William S. Kroger, M.D., is executive director of the Institute for Comprehensive Medicine in Beverly Hills and clinical professor of anesthesiology, Pain Clinic, UCLA Medical Center. He is co-founder of both the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. He is author of numerous scientific articles and books including Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and coauthor of Hypnosis and Behavior Modification: Imagery Conditioning.

Richard S. Lazarus, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests have principally focused on cognitive processes that mediate stress and coping with stress and illness. He has authored numerous research and theoretical papers as well as several books including Psychological Stress and the Coping Process and Patterns of Adjustment.

Robert B. Livingston, M.D., is professor of neurosciences, University of California, San Diego and a past director for both Neurological and Mental Health Institutes, National Institutes of Health. He has published many papers and edited several books relating to neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, psychology, psychiatry, education, and history. Among his recent work is a book Sensory Processing, Perception, and Behavior.

James J. Lynch, Ph.D., is professor of psychology, University of Maryland School of Medicine and scientific director of the Psychophysiological Clinic and Laboratories. His research interests have included biofeedback control of brain wave activity, the psychophysiology of affiliation and cardiac function about which he has written a book, The Broken Heart: The Medical Consequences of Loneliness.

Meredith Minkler, Dr.P.H., is assistant professor of Health Education, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include the problems of aging in American society, the health effects of retirement, and the role of supportive ties in health maintenance.

Robert E. Ornstein, Ph.D., is associate professor of medical psychology, University of California, San Francisco and president of The Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge. His major interests include the function of the two hemispheres of the brain, perception, and communications in the human sciences. He is author of The Psychology of Consciousness, The Mind Field, and coauthor of On the Psychology of Meditation.

David S. Sobel, M.D., M.P.H., is acting chief of Preventive Medicine, Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center at Santa Teresa and a fellow at the Health Policy Program, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. He is also medical program director of The Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge and has research interests in self-care and health promotion. He is editor of Ways of Health: Holistic Approaches to Ancient and Contemporary Medicine.

SYMPOSIUM CHAIRPERSONS
Lucy Ann Geiselman, Ph.D.
Robert E. Ornstein, Ph.D.
David S. Sobel, M.D.

PROGRAM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11 MORNING

INTRODUCTION – David S. Sobel, M.D.

THE PSYCHOBIOLOGY OF HUMAN CONTACT
James J. Lynch, Ph.D.
Most psychosomatic disease results from hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system in response to interpersonal interactions. In most settings the individual is unaware of this body reaction. The implications of this view of clinical diagnosis and treatment will be explored with particular reference to the medical consequences of loneliness and the importance of human companionship.

CLINICAL BIOFEEDBACK: SELF-CONTROL OF INTERNAL STATES
Thomas H. Budzynski, Ph.D.
Biofeedback training can enhance and accelerate the learning of self-control of a variety of physiological responses. Biofeedback will be discussed in light of recent findings on brain lateralization and stress management and some clinical applications will be reviewed.

PANEL DISCUSSION

AFTERNOON

HYPNOSIS: A SCIENTIFIC PLACEBO EFFECT
William S. Kroger, M.D.
Hypnosis is the acme of the scientifically applied placebo effect that spontaneously mobilizes the brain’s natural healing processes. It effectively taps forgotten assets and hidden potentials of the central nervous system. Through imagery it can enhance relaxation, neutralize anxiety, and facilitate greater conditioning in the alleviation of stress, pain, sexual dysfunction, and habit patterns.

HEALTHY ILLUSIONS: THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF DENIAL
Richard S. Lazarus, Ph.D.
Traditionally the cognitive process of denial has been viewed as pathological. Recently, however, denial has been recognized under certain circumstances as a useful and adaptive strategy for coping with environmental stresses, particularly life-threatening or incapacitating illnesses. The benefits of denial will be linked to possible clinical interventions drawing from research in surgical, cancer, cardiac, and asthmatic patients.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12 MORNING

INTRODUCTION – Robert E. Ornstein, Ph.D.

PEOPLE NEED PEOPLE: SOCIAL SUPPORT AND HEALTH
Meredith Minkler, Dr.P.H.
A major and often neglected risk factor in morbidity and mortality appears to be the extent to which an individual is enmeshed in a supportive social network. Various mechanisms by which social ties influence health will be reviewed. Case studies will be presented to demonstrate the role of pre-existing and intentionally developed supportive networks in helping people cope with stressful life events and decreasing susceptibility to illness.

THE AGING BRAIN
Marian C. Diamond, Ph.D.
How much concrete evidence is there for the “facts” we accept regarding the aging brain? In the rat, nerve cells are not lost in significant numbers well into old age and nerve cells can grow new branches in the aged rat. It is important that we gather data on the true potential of the aging brain and perhaps, in turn, take a more positive attitude toward the values of aging.

PANEL DISCUSSION

AFTERNOON

ENDORPHINS IN MENTAL HEALTH
Philip A. Berger, M.D.
Endorphins are natural brain chemicals that have pharmacological properties that are nearly identical to opiates, such as morphine or heroin. They may have a role in schizophrenia and depression. As there is both an excess and a deficiency of endorphin activity in patients with mental disorders, the narcotic antagonist naloxone is also under study. Naloxone blocks the activity of opiates and endorphins and has been found to block the pain relief produced by acupuncture, nitrous oxide, electrical stimulation of the brain, and placebo injections.

NUTRITION IN BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
Robert B. Livingston, M.D.
The brain is the fastest growing organ during gestation and early life, consuming oxygen and nitrogen at twice the rate of the adult brain. Hence, the developing brain is highly dependent upon dietary intake throughout early life. Inadequate nutrition during this period can warp both intelligence and social-emotional behavior.

PANEL DISCUSSION