ACUPUNCTURE AS THERAPY OF TRAUMATIC AFFECTIVE DISORDERS AND OF PHANTOM LIMB PAIN SYNDROME

Abstract

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.