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Acupuncture as therapy of traumatic affective disorders and of phantom
limb pain syndrome
Freed S
Acupunct Electrother Res 1989;14(2):121-9
Heart Disease Research Foundation, Brooklyn, New York 11201.
Functional isomorphism holds between four essential properties of
acupuncture and of meditation, namely, 1) alpha rhythm prominent in
electro-encephalograms (EEG); 2) deep general relaxation; 3) high degree of
unresponsiveness to ordinarily painful stimuli; 4) participation of
virtually the entire body. It is postulated, subject to experimental test,
that a "stillness" prevails during acupuncture similar to the
quiet of meditation. The quiet of meditation and by postulate, the
"stillness" of acupuncture, provide high degree of
unresponsiveness to aversive components of conditioned stimuli which had
habitually reactivated affective trauma. This marked unresponsiveness
accounts for the "stillness" and its EEG alpha rhythm. With its
low noise level the "stillness" also provides the cerebral cortex
better resolved, more intense signals relative to background and more
comprehensive, clear information. The cortex can then call upon newly
mobilizable, more precise regulation for removing imbalances throughout the
body. The same factors apply to the therapy by acupuncture of phantom limb
pain syndrome if the pain impulses from the limb, while attached, is the
unconditioned stimulus of a reflex in which impulses from inner organs
function as conditioned stimuli. Successful therapy of the syndrome using
laser-stimulated acupuncture points is discussed accordingly. Emphasized is
the desirability to maximize the "stillness," possibly by
monitoring the course of therapy by displayed EEG
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