Trends in waking salivary alpha-amylase levels following healing lucid dreams.

Introduction: Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) is considered a marker of autonomic nervous system activity in stress research, and atypical waking sAA responses have been reported for traumatized individuals. Lucid dreams, characterized by a dreamer's awareness of their dream state while remaining asleep, have shown promising preliminary evidence of their potential to enhance mental health. This study's objective was to evaluate sAA in relation to healing lucid dreams.

Salivary neutrophil sampling feasibility in general population for gene expression analysis.

Objective: Human gene expression studies typically rely on peripheral blood samples as a cellular source, however there are numerous situations in which venipuncture is contraindicated. To this end, an oral rinse-based method for collecting salivary neutrophils as a cellular source for gene expression analyses was previously developed and shown in a pilot study with five male participants to yield mRNA expression results comparable to those obtained from peripheral blood samples. The objective of the current study was to characterize the generalizability of the oral rinse-based method by analyzing unpublished RNA quality data obtained through a parent study that collected salivary neutrophil samples using the method from a larger sample size and including both men and women.

Exploring Personal Development Workshops' Effect on Well-Being and Interconnectedness.

Personal development workshops are increasingly popular. This study evaluated the relationships between the measures of well-being, interconnectedness, and extended perception in various workshops and explored which kinds of workshops and individual characteristics predicted changes in these outcomes. In a prospective, uncontrolled, within-participant design study, adult participants completed questionnaires and online tasks before and after personal development workshops.

Genetics of psychic ability - A pilot case-control exome sequencing study.

Introduction: It is commonly believed that psychic ability, like many mental and physical traits, runs in families. This suggests the presence of a genetic component. If such a component were found, it would constitute a biological marker of psychic ability and inform environmental or pharmacologic means of enhancing or suppressing this ability.

Energy Medicine treatments for hand and wrist pain: A pilot study.

Introduction: The term "energy medicine" describes healing modalities that manipulate or channel purported subtle energies associated with the body. The objectives of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility of studying energy medicine for people with carpal tunnel pain and gathering relevant preliminary data.

Methods: Following a prospective, within-participant design, participants were recruited to experience a 30 min treatment from one of 17 energy medicine practitioners.

A case study of extended human capacity perception during Energy Medicine treatments using mixed methods analysis.

Introduction: Some "energy medicine" modalities, such as Reiki, continue to show evidence for efficacy, but the underlying mechanisms of action are still uncertain. To help illuminate possible mechanisms, this exploratory mixed-method study using qualitative and quantitative analyses investigated: 1) How do energy medicine sessions function from the perspective of a seer, i.e.

Spectroscopic analysis of water treated by and in proximity to Energy Medicine practitioners: An exploratory study.

Previously reported experiments suggest that healing intention focused toward water, or merely taking place in the vicinity of water, affects the hydrogen-oxygen (HO) covalent bonds. This claim was explored in the context of a clinical energy medicine pilot study involving 17 practitioners and 190 participants. In a "direct" test, samples of water were directly treated by the practitioners; in an "indirect" test, aliquots attached to lanyards were worn by practitioners and participants as they were engaged in healing sessions.

Possible negentropic effects observed during Energy Medicine sessions.

Introduction: Previously reported experiments suggest that aspects of the physical environment, in particular measures of negentropy (i.e., order) associated with the statistical outputs of truly random number generators, may be affected during periods of focused mental attention.

Effects of the local and geocosmic environment on the efficacy of Energy Medicine treatments: An exploratory study.

Introduction: Outcomes of medical treatments tend to be highly variable. Some of the underlying variance is due to well-known factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and effects of local weather. There are also less obvious influences including variations in solar wind, the Earth's geomagnetic field, and the interplanetary magnetic field.

Measuring extraordinary experiences and beliefs: A validation and reliability study.

Belief in the paranormal is widespread worldwide. Recent surveys suggest that subjective experiences of the paranormal are common. A concise instrument that adequately evaluates beliefs as distinct from experiences does not currently exist.

PHIP drives glioblastoma motility and invasion by regulating the focal adhesion complex.

The invasive behavior of glioblastoma is essential to its aggressive potential. Here, we show that pleckstrin homology domain interacting protein (PHIP), acting through effects on the force transduction layer of the focal adhesion complex, drives glioblastoma motility and invasion. Immunofluorescence analysis localized PHIP to the leading edge of glioblastoma cells, together with several focal adhesion proteins: vinculin (VCL), talin 1 (TLN1), integrin beta 1 (ITGB1), as well as phosphorylated forms of paxillin (pPXN) and focal adhesion kinase (pFAK).

Do Noncoding RNAs Mediate the Efficacy of Energy Psychology?

Background: There are over 100 published studies of a therapy called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). This popular form of energy psychology combines elements of established methods like cognitive therapy with acupressure. Our group reported the first evidence of its mechanisms of action at the molecular level, showing that it can influence levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Selective Toxicity of a Highly Potent Camptothecin Analogue: A Pilot Study with Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells.

Background/aim: We developed a novel camptothecin analogue, CPT417, that yields reduced toxicity compared to other analogues used in chemotherapeutic regimens. In this pilot study, we assessed the activity of CPT417 against glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells and glioma stem cells.

Materials And Methods: The human U251 GBM cell line and normal human astrocytes were cultured in parallel for clonogenic survival analysis following exposure to increasing concentrations of CPT417.

Epigenetic Effects of PTSD Remediation in Veterans Using Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of measuring changes in gene expression associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment using emotional freedom techniques (EFT).

Design: Participants were randomized into an EFT group receiving EFT and treatment as usual (TAU) throughout a 10-week intervention period and a group receiving only TAU during the intervention period and then receiving EFT.

Setting: A community clinic and a research institute in California.

Challenges for Preclinical Investigations of Human Biofield Modalities.

Preclinical models for studying the effects of the human biofield have great potential to advance our understanding of human biofield modalities, which include external qigong, Johrei, Reiki, therapeutic touch, healing touch, polarity therapy, pranic healing, and other practices. A short history of Western biofield studies using preclinical models is presented and demonstrates numerous and consistent examples of human biofields significantly affecting biological systems both in vitro and in vivo. Methodological issues arising from these studies and practical solutions in experimental design are presented.

Expressive Arts Therapy with Hospitalized Children: A Pilot Study of Co-Creating Healing Sock Creatures©.

A novel form of expressive arts therapy was developed in a pediatric unit and received enthusiastic support from hospital staff and family members because of their impressions that the children were calmer following therapy, as well as throughout the remainder of the hospital stay. A pilot study was conducted to assess the feasibility of quantifying such impressions by measuring changes in the children's mood by self-report. Twenty-five children (mean age 8.

Impact of prospectively determined A118G polymorphism on treatment response to injectable naltrexone among methamphetamine-dependent patients: an open-label, pilot study.

Objectives: Methamphetamine (MA) addiction has no known effective pharmacotherapy. Small trials showed beneficial effects for oral naltrexone in amphetamine users. Trials in alcohol-dependent subjects showed better response in persons with the A118G single nucleotide polymorphism of the μ-opioid receptor.

HCMV glycoprotein B is expressed in primary glioblastomas and enhances growth and invasiveness via PDGFR-alpha activation.

Our laboratory first demonstrated that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is associated with the most deadly form of primary brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM). We showed that HCMV glycoprotein B (gB) mediates viral cellular entry via the receptor tyrosine kinase PDGFR-alpha (PDGFRα), resulting in activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway, a critical signaling axis gliomagenesis. Here, we investigated the effects of gB overexpression on glioma progression.

Expressive arts therapy for hospitalized children: a pilot study measuring cortisol levels.

This pilot study aimed at assessing the feasibility of capturing physiological evidence of reduced stress for hospitalized children following expressive arts therapy. Twenty-five patients were offered a novel form of expressive arts therapy, termed Healing Sock Creatures, during their stay in the hospital. Saliva samples were collected at two times in the afternoon for the purpose of measuring salivary cortisol levels.

Gene expression analysis in combat veterans with and without post‑traumatic stress disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common, debilitating and complex disorder. Numerous genetic and environmental factors are important in the genesis and maintenance of PTSD. Thus, gene expression analysis (GEA) is a critical technology for PTSD research since it detects essential genetic output affected by gene-environment interactions.

Id-1 is a key transcriptional regulator of glioblastoma aggressiveness and a novel therapeutic target.

Glioblastoma is the most common form of primary adult brain tumors. A majority of glioblastomas grow invasively into distant brain tissue, leading to tumor recurrence, which is ultimately incurable. It is, therefore, essential to discover master regulators that control glioblastoma invasiveness and target them therapeutically.

Infrasound sensitizes human glioblastoma cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis.

The development of nontoxic agents that can selectively enhance the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy is an important aim in oncology. This study evaluates the ability of infrasound exposure to sensitize glioblastoma cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis. The infrasound was delivered using a device designed to replicate the unique infrasound emissions measured during external Qigong treatments.

The effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: a randomized controlled trial.

This study examined the changes in cortisol levels and psychological distress symptoms of 83 nonclinical subjects receiving a single hour long intervention. Subjects were randomly assigned to either an emotional freedom technique (EFT) group, a psychotherapy group receiving a supportive interviews (SI), or a no treatment (NT) group. Salivary cortisol assays were performed immediately before and 30 minutes after the intervention.

Evaluation of biofield treatment dose and distance in a model of cancer cell death.

Objective: This study assessed the potential influence of biofield treatment on cultured human cancer cells and whether such influence was affected by varying the duration of the treatment (dose) or the distance between the biofield practitioner and the target cells.

Design: Biofield treatment dosage was assessed from a short distance (0.25 meters) in three independent experiments involving 1, 2, or 5 treatments, along with another set of three independent and comparable mock experiments.