The Molecular Basis of Emotions and Health

Dr. Candace Pert's (1946-2013) pioneering work in neuroscience uncovered the primary mechanisms for how mind-body medicine works at the molecular level. A bodywide network of peptides and receptors are the molecular (i.e. biochemical) basis of emotions, wellness, and life itself.

"Every cell in our body has a characteristic vibration. When these cells vibrate at a certain rate and in a certain pattern, the body functions well and the person feels good. When they vibrate at a different rate and pattern, the body functions less well and the person feels not so good … every thought is a pattern of energy characterized by a certain vibratory rate and pattern … the vibratory pattern of the thought and its consequent emotion are experienced throughout the entire body, by each cell, and this vibratory influence triggers the release of certain kinds of neuropeptides which flood through the body … thus thoughts are patterns of energy which influence the functions of the whole body." Dr. Candace Pert in Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine.

Candace Pert, 67, Explorer of the Brain, Dies.

PBS Special 'Healing and the Mind' with an excerpt of Candace Pert discussing her work (4:14)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf7FkMnWnNw

Functional Genomic and Neurological Correlates of Mind-Body Therapies

Functional Genomic and Neurological Correlates of Mind-Body Therapies. PMID: 28017838. 

Research by the Harvard Medical School and others has demonstrated that the practice of Qigong positively affects gene expression, the immune system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, and cellular function allowing cells to live longer -- true "anti-aging" and the legendary "fountain of youth". Qigong promotes gene transcription for stress reduction and improvement of immune function. The scientific basis of Qigong is explained in part through epigenetics (cell biology), psychoneuroimmunology (neuroscience) and gene expression.

Psychoneuroimmunology (Mind-Body)

Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the relationship between the mind, or psychological processes, and the nervous and immune systems. The meditation component of Qigong is an example of a "psychological process" that affects physical health and well-being. The moving meditation of Qigong lowers stress, strengthens the immune system, reduces chronic inflammation, and improves cellular metabolism and aging. Qigong can be considered a "mind-body" practice or "mind-body medicine." Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School and Founder of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine describes the profound affects of the mind on the body and health based on his lifetime work as a cardiologist and researcher. Dr. Benson compares health and well-being to a three legged stool. The legs are pharmaceuticals, surgery, and self-care. Self-care includes nutrition, exercise, the relaxation response (practices to achieve the relaxation response include Qigong), and belief or faith. Benson is quick to clarify that faith as a psychological state is healing, regardless of its origin.

The idea that the mind can heal is not new. In the early 1950's Norman Vincent Peale wrote The Power of Positive Thinking which became a cultural phenomena. Peale's basic message was that individuals have the power to make themselves sick or well by their thoughts. By the 1960's the power of positive thinking was well accepted by the general population, but not the medical community. A major catalyst for a change of heart came from journalist and author Norman Cousins. Cousins was informed by his doctor that he was unlikely to survive a condition thought to be an autoimmune disorder. He not only embraced the power of positive thinking by refusing to believe his doctor's prognosis, but he also developed a radical new therapy: laughter. Cousins is credited with literally laughing his way back to health against all odds. In 1976 he wrote an article on his experience that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This article was positively received by thousands of M.D.s. He later expanded this article on the benefits of laughter and humor in the healing process to his memoir Anatomy of an Illness, published in 1979. Inspired partly by this high-profile case of healing through laughter, the medical community finally started taking notice of the effect of the mind on health in the early 1980's. The neuroscience sub-field of psychoneuroimmunology was one result, and mind-body healing through laughter became the object of serious scientific inquiry. Laughter therapy is widely accepted today even though it's mechanism of action is not fully understood. For example, see Laughter prescription and Laughter Remains Good Medicine.

Psychoneuroimmunology: An Introduction to Immune-to-Brain Communication and Its Implications for Clinical Psychology. PMID: 36791765. 

A systematic review of psychoneuroimmunology-based interventions. PMID: 29262731. 

Can your thoughts affect your health?

At their core, the documentaries The Living Matrix (2009) and HEAL (2017) have a common theme: the human body is more than a biochemical machine, and we are not victims of unchangeable genes. By engaging and integrating our physical, emotional, and mental natures through intention and the mind, we can tap into our informational, energetic matrix to be healthy or, inversely, make ourselves sick. 

Heal Trailer #1 (2017) | Movieclips Indie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69WZZt_irmM

HEAL "takes us on a scientific and spiritual journey where we discover that by changing our perceptions, the human body can heal itself; we should not buy into a scary prognosis. We have more control over our health and life than we have been taught to believe. This film empowers us with a new understanding of the miraculous nature of the human body and the extraordinary healer within us all.  HEAL taps into the brilliant minds of leading scientists and spiritual teachers, and follows three people on actual high stakes healing journeys."  

The Living Matrix: The New Science of Healing - Official Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDP3KKVbFw4

The official trailer for the full-length film which brings "new science" breakthroughs that are transforming our understanding of how to get well and stay well. "The Living Matrix" provides an up-close look at the science of  information as medicine. Leading researchers and health practitioners share their discoveries on the "miracle cures" traditional medicine just can't explain. The movie features 16 researchers and scientific visionaries including: Lynne McTaggart, Bruce Lipton, PhD, Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, Dr. Eric Pearl, Peter Fraser, Marilyn Schlitz, PhD, and James Oschman, PhD. 

In comparison, The Living Matrix is rich in information but a bit dry in presentation of one interview after another of doctors, researchers and scientists.  HEAL is lively and modern in delivery, presentation and content - less science and more focus on integrative and alternative body-mind modalities.  Almost all the HEAL presenters are teachers, healthcare providers, and authors in the forefront of our New Age.  Even though HEAL was almost 2 hours long, I could have watched and listened to much more.  The Living Matrix helped fill gaps and is important to the subject making, in my opinion, the 2 films complementary.

Luisa de Castro

National Qigong Association Level III Instructor

Epigenetics (Lifestyle)

Epigenetics (literally, control beyond genetics) is a new field of biology that is exploring the effect of the environment on cellular behavior. The "environment" includes one's physical, social, and electromagnetic environment as well as beliefs, perceptions, lifestyle, habits, behaviors, and mind-body practices such as Qigong. Gene expression is the process by which proteins are manufactured from instructions stored in the DNA.

Humans have about the same number of genes as rats, mice, and other mammals and roughly 4500 more genes than plants, 10900 more genes than roundworms, and 16400 more genes than fruit flies. There simply aren't enough genes to account for the complexity of human biological processes, behavior, and physical structure. The complexity is made possible by several factors. One factor is regulatory proteins which direct the activity of the genes. A cell's nucleus contains regulatory proteins and DNA. Environmental signals affect the interaction between the regulatory proteins and the DNA within the nucleus as well as the function of the cell through interaction with proteins in the cell cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, and the cell membrane.

The epigenome turns the expression of genes on or off through many environmental influences, including prenatal care, drugs, diet, toxins, social interactions, and radiation. Epigenetic mechanisms include phosphorylation of proteins, methylation and histone modification of DNA, and noncoding RNA. In addition, research indicates that "junk DNA" plays an important role in gene expression and is another proposed pathway for environmental signals to affect gene expression.

According to some epigenetics researchers, the true "brain" of every cell is not the nucleus but the cell's membrane which interacts with and responds to environmental signals. A broader view sees the environmental signals affecting proteins both inside and outside the cell, as well as on the membrane. Epigenetics gives a mechanism for a bridge between the energetic basis and the biomolecular/chemical physiological basis of our existence. The "energetic basis" is our fundamental bioenergetic structure and being interacting directly with environmental signals which are different forms of energy, such as light, electromagnetism, sound, heat, vibration, emotions, thought, and the practice of Qigong. 

On the road to resilience: Epigenetic effects of meditation. PMID: 36863800. 

Editing the brain: How new epigenetic tools could rewrite our understanding of memory and more. 

Epigenetic Mechanisms of Integrative Medicine.  PMC5339524.

How Thoughts, Emotions, the Environment, and Lifestyle Affect Cellular Function at the Molecular Level -- The Details

Dr. Lipton explains that genes do not control biology. Genes cause nothing. They are simply blueprints for how to build proteins. Proteins are the primal element of life. Proteins and genes are directly affected by the environment. The popular media has still not really discovered this fact. Lipton demonstrates how the new science of Epigenetics is revolutionizing our understanding of the link between mind and matter and the profound effects it has on our personal lives. The profound health effects of Qigong at the cellular level are due in large part to epigenetics. Lipton clearly explains why the accepted genome and gene functional paradigm is simply incorrect and out of date. Epigenetics is the most important revolutionary discovery in biology tantamount to the discovery of quantum physics as opposed to classic physics.

Bruce Lipton, Ph.D. Epigenetics: The science of Human Empowerment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqG5TagD0uU 

"The notion that only physical molecules can impact cell physiology is outmoded. Biological behavior can be controlled by invisible forces, including thought, as well as it can be controlled by physical molecules like penicillin, a fact that provides the scientific underpinning for pharmaceutical-free, energy medicine." Dr. Bruce Lipton.

"Specific frequencies and patterns of electromagnetic radiation regulate and control gene regulation, cell division, cell differentiation, morphogenesis (the process by which cells assemble into organs and tissues), hormone secretion, nerve growth and function....Though these research studies have been published in some of the most respected mainstream biomedical journals, their revolutionary findings have not been incorporated into the medical school curriculum." Bruce Lipton: Biology of Belief

The Biology of Belief and the Science of Epigenetics

Bruce Lipton basically "wrote the book" on epigenetics, and it's called Biology of Belief. Here are some of his insights from that book:

The function of the nervous system is to perceive the environment and coordinate the response/behavior of all cells in the body

Environmental influences, including nutrition, stress, and emotions can modify genes without changing their basic blueprint

Information that controls biology starts with environmental signals that in turn, control the binding of regulatory proteins to the DNA. The regulatory proteins direct the activity of the genes.

The malignancies in 95 percent of breast cancers are derived from environmentally-induced epigenetic alterations and not defective genes.

Humans have about the same number of genes as rodents; only 9000 more genes than fruit-flies; and only 1500 more genes than microscopic worms. How can we be so complex with so few genes?

The nucleus of a cell is simply a memory disk, a hard drive containing the DNA programs that encode the production of proteins - proteins are part of the endocrine system and they control the autonomic nervous system as well as all other bodily functions

Since each atom has its own specific energy signature (wobble or vibration), molecules radiate their own identifying energy patterns. Every material structure in the universe, including individual humans, radiates a unique energy signature.

Specific frequencies of electromagnetic radiation regulate DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, alter protein shape and function and control gene regulation, cell division, cell differentiation, hormone secretion, nerve growth and function.

Protein synthesis, or folding, is where proteins (poly-peptide chains) are instantaneously transformed into their final three-dimensional state. The signaling speed required to make this happen is faster than is possible via a bio-chemical mechanism. In other words, the signaling seems to require electromagnetic (or faster) speeds.

Electromagnetic or acoustic vibrations can create a constructive interference or "harmonic resonance" in atoms. The atom absorbs energy and starts to vibrate faster as a result. Kidney stones have been treated by doctors with constructive interference mechanics. Focused energy waves interact with atoms.

Thoughts, the mind's energy, directly influence how the brain controls the body. Thoughts, a form of energy, can activate or inhibit the function of a cell's proteins via constructive or destructive interference.

Our conscious mind experiences the chemical communication signals between cells as emotions.

If positive thinking/emotions is good for you, imagine what negative thinking can do. See nocebo.

Epigenetics on PBS' NOVA

This video is from the Public Broadcasting System NOVA program. It is yet another explanation of epigenetics and the effects of the environment on gene expression. Genetically identical twins and mice have differentially expressed genes. The epigenome silences different genes to make cells different from one another. The epigenome regulates the expression of the genes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcaRTDsLmiA 

Epigenetics and Pharmaceuticals

Epigenetic side-effects of common pharmaceuticals: a potential new field in medicine and pharmacology. PMID: 19501473.

Qigong and Gene Expression

"For hundreds of years Western medicine has looked at mind and body as totally separate entities, to the point where saying something 'is all in your head' implied that it was imaginary. Now we've found how changing the activity of the mind can alter the way basic genetic instructions are implemented." Herbert Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute

Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics. PMCID: PMC7431950.

Anti-inflammatory effect on genes expression after four days of Qigong training in peripheral mononuclear blood cells in healthy women. PMID: 29936802. 

What Is the Molecular Signature of Mind–Body Interventions? A Systematic Review of Gene Expression Changes Induced by Meditation and Related Practices

Mind-body therapies and control of inflammatory biology: A descriptive review. PMC4679419. 

Growing Young: Powerful Exercises for Initiating DNA Repair and Cellular Rejuvination

Changing Your Lifestyle Can Change Your Genes

Why Your DNA May Not Be Your Destiny. 

It’s Not Just For Your Brain: Meditating Can Actually Change Your DNA

How Exercise Changes Our DNA. 

Mindfulness Meditation Alters Gene Expression. 

Cancer is a Preventable Disease that Requires Major Lifestyle Changes. PMC2515569. 

Social Regulation for Human Gene Expression

Social Regulation for Human Gene Expression (video 1:08:24). Speaker, Steven Cole, Ph.D., professor of medicine and psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences (University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine) discusses how socio-environmental conditions can affect human gene expression. This is an excellent introduction to how epigenetics, especially a practice and lifestyle such as Qigong, can modulate short- and long-term gene expression and immune function.

Genomics

Mind-body practices that elicit the relaxation response such as Qigong and Tai Chi have been used worldwide for millennia to reverse the detrimental physiological effects of stress. Practices that trigger the relaxation response (a term pioneered by Dr. Benson, author of The Relaxation Response, have been reported to be beneficial therapeutically (sometimes as an adjunct to medical treatment) in numerous conditions that are caused or intensified by stress.

Dr. Roger Jahnke has written a review of the Benson study and several others on gene expression that will fundamentally transform science, medicine and society. The implications for corporate wellness, integrative medicine and fitness are huge. Read Dr. Jahnke's Report [PDF].

Study Reveals Gene Expression Changes with Meditation. 

Bioelectromagnetic medicine: The role of resonance signaling. PMID: 23323834. 

Relaxation response induces beneficial changes in energy metabolism, insulin secretion and inflammatory pathways. PMC3641112. 

Relaxation response immediately alters gene expression tied to inflammation, metabolism and insulin.

How Exercise Changes Fat and Muscle Cells. 

Genomics, Proteomics, Transcriptomics, and Metabolomics

Genomics is concerned with the structure and function of DNA. DNA is the parts list for the functioning components of the body, which are proteins. Knowing the details of one's DNA does not in most cases contribute to an understanding of function or disease. For example, knowing your DNA is not going to say whether you will get cancer except in possibly a small set of cases. On the other hand, DNA methylation and phosphorolation are more relevant, and they depend upon lifestyle, including thoughts, emotions, nutrition, life experience, and reactions to stress.

Even more relevant to health, wellness, disease, and function than genomics or DNA is proteomics, the study of proteins, including their structure and function. It is a new field of study whose name was coined in 1997. Recent research suggests that studying proteins might give a better understanding of the functional processes ongoing in cells than genomics because proteins are the molecules that directly regulate physiological processes. Proteins, in turn, are dependent upon RNA. Transcriptomics is the study of the function of RNA and the creation of proteins. Even more basic or fundamental is metabolomics, the study of human metabolism and metabolites, the building blocks of RNA and proteins. A thorough understanding of the structure, function, and control of human metabolism, function, and wellness requires an understanding of how electromagnetism relates to these four -omics. There is currently no theory for the relationship between bioenergy, which includes electromagnetism, and physiology, and yet this relationship is a fundamental fact of human existence.

Specific Transcriptome Changes Associated with Blood Pressure Reduction in Hypertensive Patients After Relaxation Response Training. PMC5961875. 

Functional genomics in the study of mind-body therapies. PMC4295747.