Medicine Flashcards
illness perspective in early 20th century
biomedical perspective
biomedical perspective
health is the absence of illness
current perspective on illness
biopsychosocial model
biopsychosocial model
social and cultural forces are fundamental to health and illness
how does the biopsychosocial model shift the patient’s perspective
focus on dealing with stress and coping mechanisms
how does the biopsychosocial model shift the doctor’s perspective
focus on looking at a patient in a social and cultural context
2 new fields of psychology
- health psychology
2. positive psychology
health psychology
how psychology, behavioral, and cultural factors shape health and illness
positive psychology
interest in positive, adaptive, creative, and fulfilling aspects of human life
how has the public shifted recently
increased immigration and therefore alternative healthcare
example of this public shift
meditation and Eastern cultures in North America
2 kinds of change associated with meditation
- changes during meditation
2. changes after meditation
changes during meditation
state changes
example of state changes
altered sensory or cognitive experiences
example of changes after meditation
healthier brain and better blood pressure
do all forms of meditation effect the body in the same way?
no
2 easy measurements that can be used to study meditation
- heart rate/blood pressure
2. respiration
meditation effect on blood pressure
both diastolic and systolic reductions
what causes blood pressure reductions in meditation (2 things)
- large muscle groups that are pressing against arteries relax
- artery walls relax
what else related to blood could meditation possibly help reduce (preliminary evidence)
heart attacks and strokes
breathing during meditation
slows down
how is breathing related to health
poor breathing = poor health
why does poor breathing = poor health
O2 consumption is related to metabolism
can O2 consumption be controlled?
no, it can be modified
how can we modify O2 consumption
exercise, sleep, and meditation
effect of breathing on ANS
poor breathing worsens parts of the ANS
how does meditation effect oxygen consuption
involves slower and deeper breaths which increase O2, balance CO2, and increase nitric oxide
effect of nitric oxide in blood
opens up constricted blood vessels
one way of measuring stress
galvanic skin response (skin resistance)
how does skin indicate stress
low skin conductance indicates stress
meditation effect on galvanic skin response
meditators have high skin resistance
3 ways stress is different in meditators
- reduced cortisol and catecholamines
- reduced stress and depression
- increased happiness and productivity
2 ways meditation helps immune system
- improved immune system in cancer patients
2. increased natural killer cells and helper T cells in HIV patients
which type of meditation is usually related to immune system
mindfulness
who studied meditation effect on the immune system
Davidson (2003)
Davidson experiment
8 week mindfulness program
- after gave everyone a flu vaccine
Davidson results
significant increase in left anterior brain activity (happiness)
- increases in antibody responses
how was EEG activity and antibody response related in Davidson’s study
positively correlated
what is a good sign of a healthy brain
thick cortex
what happens to the cortex as we age
it thins about .023 mm per year
disease associated with accelerated cortical thinning
Alzheimer’s
who studied cortical thickness in meditators
Lazar (2005)
Lazar study of cortical thickness
viewed meditators in an MRI vs controls
cortical areas Lazar found to be different in meditators
- insula (attention)
- anterior part of brain (anteroception)
- part of parietal cortex (sensory perception)
cerebral blood flow
responsible for meeting the brain’s metabolic demands
too little cerebral blood flow
ischemia
who studied cerebral blood flow
Wang (2011)
4 purposes of Wang’s study
- are different brain areas active for different meditation types
- is self report correlated to brain activity
- do meditation and stress have opposite effect in the brain
- do these effects last
kind of meditation used in Wang’s study
concentration, mindfulness, and a control task
brain areas active for concentration meditation
medial prefrontal cortex
what is the medial prefrontal cortex associated with
focused attention
difference in brain areas for mindfulness
decreased limbic system activity
what is decreased limbic system activity associated with
relaxation, deep breathing
which brain areas remained active after meditating
left anterior insula
effect of meditation on interconnectedness
meditation = increase in self reported interconnected feelings
how is self report related to what is actually occurring in the brain
they are correlated
brain waves
electric activity of millions of neurons in the brain
why are brain waves called “waves”
they are cyclical in nature
what machines can measure brain waves
EEGs
gamma waves
25-100 Hz
where do gamma waves move from
starts in thalamus and sweeps from front to back
what happens with thalamus damage
gamma waves stop and we go into a coma
what problem might gamma waves solve
the binding problem
binding problem
how aspects of our experience are unified into one perception
neural synchronization
oscillations of neurons fire together repeatedly and then stop
what does neural synchrony cause
connectivity between brain areas
who studied neural synchronization
Lutz (2004)
Lutz study
practice loving kindness and compassion meditation
- use EEG to measure gamma synchrony
Lutz results
highest levels of gamma synchrony in meditators
nociception
activity of pain receptors
3 components of pain
- pure perception of pain intensity
- immediate emotional reaction to pain
- long-term emotional reaction to pain
4 things that modify experience of pain
- situation
- culture
- attention
- belief
Kabat-Zinn study on pain
mindfulness based stress reduction program significantly reduces pain
longitudinal study on pain
after MBSR pain reduces over time
who else studied pain and meditation
Orme-Johnson (2006)
what did Orme-Johnson use to study pain
the pain visual analog scale
4 possible explanations of reducing pain in Orme-Johnson study
- reduce anticipatory anxiety
- reduce physiological causes of pain
- distraction from pain
- increase endogenous endorphins
results of Orme-Johnson study
both groups rated subjective ratings the same
- meditating groups had less activity in brain areas associated with pain
how studied meditation and smoking
Bowen and Marlett (2009)
problem with jails
70% of criminals released end up back in jail in 3 years
effect of meditation in jails
decrease in anxiety, drug, use, recidivism
recidivism
people going back to jail
problems with the jail studies
many methodological issues
