Presented by: Jian Kong, MD, Director, Neuroimaging Applications to Pain, Alternative Medicine & Placebo, Dept. Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Healing is a complicated process. Theoretically, it is made up of three components: the self-healing properties (of the body), the non-specific effects of treatment (via the mind), and the specific effect of physical or pharmacological intervention (through medicine). The final outcome is the combination of all three components.
In his talk, Dr. Kong presented 1) brain circuits associated with acute and chronic pain, 2) the role of expectancy in alternative and conventional medicine and how to apply the mind to enhance the therapeutic effects of treatment, and 3) how the mind and body can interact to produce treatment effects using Tai Chi, Baduanjin, and imagery as examples.
