by Jo Marchant
24. Gard, T. et al. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2014; 6: 76
25. Mohr, D.C. et al. British Medical Journal 2004; doi:10:1136/bmj.38041:724421:55
26. Buljevac, D. et al. British Medical Journal 2003; 327: 646
27. Mohr, D.C. et al. Neurology 2012; 79: 412–419
28. Results from the three-month meditation retreat studied by Blackburn and Epel are reported here: Jacobs, T.L. et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2011; 36: 664–681
Other examples of studies hinting that meditation might boost telomerase or lengthen telomeres include:
Ornish, D. et al. The Lancet Oncology 2013; 14: 1112–1120
Lavretsky, H. et al. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2013; 28: 57–65
29. This quote (and the quote from Elizabeth Blackburn in the following paragraph) previously appeared in “Can Meditation Really Slow Aging?” by Jo Marchant, published by Mosaic, July 1, 2014. Available at: http://mosaicscience.com/story/can-meditation-really-slow-aging
30. Interview with Elizabeth Blackburn, Paris, October 23, 2013.
31. Kabat-Zinn, J. et al. Psychosomatic Medicine 1998; 60: 625–632
32. Davidson, R.J. et al. Psychosomatic Medicine 2003; 65: 564–570
33. Barrett, B. et al. Annals of Family Medicine 2012; 10: 337–346
34. Simpson, R. et al. BMC Neurology 2014; 14: 15
35. Telephone interview with Robert Simpson, January 7, 2015.
CHAPTER TEN
1. Rosero-Bixby, L. “Costa Rican Nonagenarians: Are They the Longest Living Male Humans?” Paper presented at the IUSSP V International Population Conference, Tours, France, 2005.
2. Rosero-Bixby, L. et al. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2013; 11: 109–136
3. Dan Buettner describes the visit in his 2010 book, Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, published by the National Geographic Society.
4. Rehkopf, D.H. et al. Experimental Gerontology 2013; 48: 1266–1273
5. Telephone interview with Michel Poulain, September 2, 2013.
6. House, J.S. et al. American Journal of Epidemiology 1982; 116: 123–140
7. House, J.S. et al. Science 1988; 241: 540–545
8. Holt-Lunstad, J. et al. PLoS Medicine 2010; 7: e1000316
9. Telephone interview with Charles Raison, March 30, 2011, confirmed via email, May 2015. This quote originally appeared in the article “Heal Thyself” by Jo Marchant, New Scientist, August 27, 2011, pp. 30–34. When we spoke, Raison was a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is now based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
10. Vespa, J. et al. America’s Families & Living Arrangements: 2012. Available at: www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-570.pdf
11. McPherson, M. et al. American Sociological Review 2006; 71: 353–375
12. Eisenberger, N.I. et al. Science 2003; 302: 290–292
Eisenberger, N.I. & Cole, S.W. Nature Neuroscience 2012; 15: 1–6
13. Cacioppo, J.T. et al. Annals of Behavioral Medicine 2011; 1231: 17–22
Hawkley, L.C. & Cacioppo, J.T. Annals of Behavioral Medicine 2010; 40: 218–227
14. Telephone interview with John Cacioppo, April 21, 2011.
15. This quote originally appeared in the article “Heal Thyself” by Jo Marchant, New Scientist, August 27, 2011, pp. 30–34.
16. Luo, Y. et al. Social Science & Medicine 2012; 74: 907–914
17. Cole, S.W. et al. Genome Biology 2007; 8: R189
18. Interview with Steve Cole, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), November 21, 2013.
19. Cole, S.W. et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2011; 108: 3080–3085
20. Cole, S.W. PLoS Genetics 2014; 10: e1004601
21. Antoni, M.H. et al. Biological Psychiatry 2012; 71: 366–372
22. Telephone interviews with Michael Antoni, September 18, 2013, and March 6, 2014.
23. This quote originally appeared in “The Pursuit of Happiness” by Jo Marchant, Nature 2013; 503: 458–460
24. Spiegel, D. et al. The Lancet 1989; 334: 888–891
25. This was David Spiegel’s count when I interviewed him at the Curie Institute, Paris, October 23, 2013. The negative trials include a large Canadian trial of 235 women with metastatic breast cancer, published in 2001 (Goodwin, P.J. et al. New England Journal of Medicine 2001; 345: 1719–1726), and Spiegel’s own attempt to repeat his 1989 study, on 125 women with the condition, published in 2007 (Spiegel, D. et al. Cancer 2007; 110: 1130–1137). Spiegel argues that there are problems with some of these studies, for example that the intervention being tested didn’t cause any psychological changes in the first place, so wouldn’t then be expected to have any physical effect.
The most prominent of the positive studies is a 2008 trial led by Barbara Andersen of Ohio State University, which included 227 women with non-metastatic breast cancer (Andersen, B.L. et al. Cancer 2008; 113: 3450–3458). They took a four-month course that aimed to provide them with social support and to help manage stress in their lives. Andersen followed the women for an average of 11 years. Their mood and immune responses improved, and their average survival time was increased by six months, from 2.2 years in the control group to 2.8 years in the therapy group. Skeptic James Coyne has criticized the statistical analysis used in this study, arguing that the data didn’t actually show a positive result at all (Stefanek, M.E. et al. Cancer 2009; 115: 5612–5616).
26. Aizer, A.A. et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2013; 31: 3869–3876
For prostate, breast, colorectal, esophageal and head/neck cancers, the authors concluded that the survival benefit conferred by being married was greater than that published for chemotherapy.
27. Interview with David Spiegel, Curie Institute, Paris, October 23, 2013.
28. Telephone interview with James Coyne, September 19, 2013.
29. Buchen, L. Nature 2010; 467: 146–148
30. McGowan, P.O. et al. Nature Neuroscience 2009; 12: 342–348
31. Lam, L.L. et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2012; 109: 17253–17260
Romans, S.E. et al. Child Development 2014; 86: 303–309
Naumova, O.Y. et al. Development & Psychopathology 2012; 24: 143–155
Fraga, M.F. et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2005; 102: 10604–10609
32. One of the first people to publish this idea was the biologist Bruce Lipton, in his 2005 book The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles. It’s now a popular claim on new age and health websites, for example see:
http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com/epigenetics.html
http://healthscamsexposed.com/2014/06/epigenetics-proves-cancer-is-not-mysterious-or-inevitable/
http://healingthecause.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/ancestral-healing-epigenetics.html
33. These ideas are discussed further in:
Cole, S.W. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2009; 18: 132–137
Cole, S.W. PLoS Genetics 2014; 10: e1004601
34. Brody, G.H., Kogan, S.M. & Grange, C.M. (2012). “Translating Longitudinal, Developmental Research with Rural African American Families into Prevention Programs for Rural African American Youth.” In V. Maholmes & R.B. King (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development. London: Oxford University Press.
Several other studies, for example by Northwestern University’s Greg Miller, have also found that warm or nurturant parenting protects people against the biological effects of stress later in life.
Miller, G.E. & Chen, E. Child Development Perspectives 2013; 7: 67–73
35. Brody, G.H. et al. Journal of Adolescent Health 2008; 43: 474–481
36. Miller, G.E. et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2014; 111: 11287–11292
37. Telephone interview with Greg Miller, December 4, 2014.
<
br /> 38. Both loneliness and chronic stress are thought to increase the risk of dementia. For example see:
Holwerda, T.J. et al. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgury & Psychiatry 2014; 85: 135–142
Greenberg, M.S. et al. Alzheimer’s & Dementia 2014; 10: S155–S16
39. Telephone interview with Michelle Carlson, February 24, 2015.
40. Fried, L.P. et al. Journal of Urban Health 2004; 81: 64–78
Carlson, M.C. et al. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences 2009; 64: 1275–1282
41. Carlson, M.C. et al. Alzheimers & Dementia. Forthcoming.
42. Telephone interview with Lobsang Negi, December 10, 2014, and interview, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, February 3, 2015.
43. For more information on CBCT, see: http://tibet.emory.edu/cognitively-based-compassion-training/index.html
44. Pace, T.W.W. et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009; 34: 87–98
45. Pace, T.W.W. et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2013; 38: 294–299
46. Mascaro, J.S. et al. SCAN 2013; 8: 48–55
47. Interview with Brendan Ozawa–de Silva, Atlanta, February 4 and 5, 2015.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1. Novella, S. “Energy Medicine: Noise-Based Pseudoscience,” Science-based medicine blog, December 12, 2012. Available at: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/energy-medicine-noise-based-pseudoscience/
2. The details of Janice’s story (Janice is not her real name) given here are taken from Kevin Tracey’s 2005 book Fatal Sequence: The Killer Within, published by Dana Press. Tracey notes in the introduction to this book that he did not take recordings or notes during Janice’s hospitalization, so he reconstructed the account from memory.
3. Levinson, A.T. et al. Seminars in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2011; 32: 195–205
4. Tracey, K. Fatal Sequence, chapter 5, location 1294
5. Tracey, K. Fatal Sequence, introduction, location 70
6. Lehrer, P. Biofeedback 2013; 41: 88–97
7. Vaschillo, E. et al. Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback 2002; 27: 1–27
8. Lehrer, P. Biofeedback 2013; 41: 26–31
9. Thayer, J.F. & Lane, R.D. Biological Psychology 2007; 74: 224–242
10. Telephone interview with Paul Lehrer, January 26, 2015.
11. Del Pozo, J.M. et al. American Heart Journal 2004; 147: E11
Lin, G. et al. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 2012; 18: 143–152
12. Gevirtz, R. Biofeedback 2013; 41: 110–120
13. Benson, H. The Relaxation Response, Avon Books, 1976, p. 83
14. For example, see:
Benson, H. et al. The Lancet 1974; i: 289–291
Benson, H. et al. Journal of Chronic Diseases 1974; 27: 163–169
15. Benson describes the results of his initial studies in his 1976 book, The Relaxation Response (pp. 87–95). For example, oxygen consumption abruptly dropped by 10–20% during meditation (compared to around 8% during sleep). Slow brain waves called alpha waves increased in intensity. Levels of lactic acid in the blood (a waste product of metabolism) dropped by around 40%. Heart rate slowed on average by about three beats per minute.
16. Park, G. & Thayer, J.F. Frontiers in Psychology 2014; 5: 278
Porges, S.W. Biological Psychology 2007; 74: 116–143
17. Thayer, J.F. et al. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 2012; 36: 747–756
18. Lehrer, P. Psychosomatic Medicine 1999; 61: 812–821
19. Gevirtz, R. Biofeedback 2013; 41: 110–120
20. Described in Tracey, K. Fatal Sequence, chapter 7, location 1885
21. Described in Tracey, K. Fatal Sequence, chapter 8, location 2307
22. Described in Tracey, K. Fatal Sequence, chapter 9, location 2467
23. Watkins, L.R. et al. Neuroscience Letters 1995; 183: 27–31
24. Borovikova, L. et al. Nature 2000; 405: 458–462
25. Tracey, K.J. Nature 2002; 420: 853–859
26. Tracey tells this story in Tracey, K., “Shock Medicine,” Scientific American, March 2015, pp. 28–35.
27. Kok, B.E. & Fredrickson, B.L. Biological Psychology 2010; 85: 432–436
28. Kok, B.E. et al. Psychological Science 2013; 24: 1123–1132
29. Telephone interview with Bethany Kok, December 8, 2014.
30. See: http://www.heartmath.com/science-behind-emwave/
31. These ideas are discussed in an interview with HeartMath’s research director, Rollin McCraty, in “Sufism: An Inquiry” (vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 33–58). Available at: http://issuu.com/iasufism/docs/sufism.vol16:2
See also:
McCraty, R. et al. The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 2004; 10: 133–143
McCraty, R. et al. The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 2004; 10: 325–336
McCraty, R. & Childre, D. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 2010; 16: 10–24
32. For example:
Farkas, B. “Is Heartmath’s emWave Personal Stress Reliever Scientific?” James Randi Educational Foundation blog, January 31, 2011. Available at: http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1202—is-heartmaths-emwave-personal-stress-reliever-scientific-.html
Novella, S. “Energy Medicine: Noise-based pseudoscience,” Science-based medicine blog, December 12, 2012. Available at: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/energy-medicine-noise-based-pseudoscience/
33. Xin, W. et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2013; 97: 926–35
34. Video interview for Sky News. Available at: http://news.sky.com/story/1396464/nerve-hack-offers-arthritis-sufferers-hope
35. Koopman, F. A. et al. Arthritis & Rheumatism 2012; 64 Suppl 10: 581
36. Moore, T. “ ‘Nerve hack’ Offers Arthritis Sufferers Hope,” Sky News, December 23, 2014. Available at: http://news.sky.com/story/1396464/nerve-hack-offers-arthritis-sufferers-hope
37. Tracey, K. “Shock Medicine,” Scientific American, March 2015, pp. 28–35
38. Fritz, J.R. & Huston, J.M. Bioelectronic Medicine 2014; 1: 25–29
39. Miller, L. & Vegesna, A. Bioelectronic Medicine 2014; 1: 19–24
40. Behar, M. “Can the Nervous System Be Hacked?,” New York Times Magazine, May 23, 2014. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/can-the-nervous-system-be-hacked.html
41. Martin, J.L.R. & Martín-Sánchez, E. European Psychiatry 2012; 27: 147–155
42. Behar, M. “Can the Nervous System Be Hacked?,” New York Times magazine, May 23, 2014. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/can-the-nervous-system-be-hacked.html
43. Weintraub, A. “Brain-Altering Devices May Supplant Drugs—and Pharma Is OK with That,” Forbes.com, February 24, 2015. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/arleneweintraub/2015/02/24/brain-altering-devices-may-supplant-drugs-and-pharma-is-ok-with-that/
Tracey, K. “Shock Medicine,” Scientific American, March 2015, pp. 28–35
44. Guerrini, F. “DARPA’s ElectRx Project: Self-Healing Bodies Through Targeted Stimulation of the Nerves,” Forbes.com, August 29, 2014. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/federicoguerrini/2014/08/29/darpas-electrx-project-self-healing-bodies-through-targeted-stimulation-of-the-nerves/
45. Tracey, K. Fatal Sequence, chapter 10, location 2820
46. See, for example:
Nolan, R.P. et al. Journal of Internal Medicine 2012; 272: 161–169
Lehrer, P. et al. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 2010; 35: 303–315
Kox, M. et al. Psychosomatic Medicine 2012; 74: 489–494
Olex, S. et al. International Journal of Cardiology 2013; 18: 180
5–1810
47. Behar, M. “Can the Nervous System Be Hacked?,” New York Times Magazine, May 23, 2014. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/can-the-nervous-system-be-hacked.html
48. Tracey, K. Fatal Sequence, chapter 10, location 2908
CHAPTER TWELVE
1. Dawkins, R. The God Delusion (2006), Bantam Press
Hawking, S. & Mlodinow, L. The Grand Design (2010), Bantam Press
2. “Religion, Spirituality and Public Health: Research, Applications and Recommendations.” Testimony by Harold G. Koenig to Subcommittee on Research and Science Education of the U.S. House of Representatives, September 18, 2008. Available at: https://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/hearings/091808_koenig.pdf
3. For example, a 2011 study of 36,000 adults in Norway found that the more often they attended church, the lower their blood pressure: Sorensen, T. et al. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 2011; 42: 13–28.
Another study of nearly 40,000 people in 22 countries found that those who went to church more reported better health: Nicholson, A. et al. Social Science & Medicine 2009; 69: 519–528.
For a review, see Koenig, H.G. et al. Handbook of Religion and Health (2012), Oxford University Press.
4. For example, see Sloan, R.P. et al. The Lancet 1999; 353: 664–667.
5. “Religion, Spirituality and Public Health: Research, Applications and Recommendations.” Testimony by Harold G. Koenig to Subcommittee on Research and Science Education of the U.S. House of Representatives, September 18, 2008. Available at: https://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/hearings/091808_koenig.pdf
6. Telephone interview with Richard Sloan, February 28, 2015.
7. Chida, Y. et al. Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics 2009; 78: 81–90
8. Fox News Poll, 2011, Question 29. Available at: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/07/fox-news-poll-creationism/
9. This quote and the one in the previous paragraph are from a 2005 interview with Sheri Kaplan published by TheBody.com, available at: http://www.thebody.com/hivawards/winners/skaplan.html
