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Healing Brain Seminar: July 1987

THE HEALING BRAIN IV

A Continuing Education Conference
Saturday, July 25, 1987

Co-sponsored by
The University of California Santa Barbara Extension
And
The Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge

The brain minds the body-states of health and disease are profoundly influenced by states of mind. This conference will present some of the recent advances in the brain and behavioral sciences which shed light on the vital role of the brain as a health maintenance organization. We know that social distress and disharmony are associated with physical symptoms and disease. But what about the role of positive mental and emotional states in promoting health and decreasing disease susceptibility?

Can physiological responses be modified by beliefs? Can self-centeredness result in disease while looking outside of ourselves be healthful? Can we become conscious participants in our dreams? Can the way we perceive the world transform harmful stressors into healthy challenges? Can the immune system be bolstered by altering mental states?

These and many other questions will be explored as part of this one-day symposium on emerging trends in behavioral medicine.

PROGRAM

THE BRAIN MINDS THE BODY
Robert Ornstein, Ph.D.
The principal function of the brain is not the creation of rational thought, language or art, but the maintenance of the health of the organism. From food avoidance to weight maintenance, the brain developed sophisticated, innate healing systems to protect the individual and social body.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: MOBILIZING THE BODY'S INTRINSIC HEALING SYSTEMS
David S. Sobel, M.D.
Beliefs can trigger significant physiological responses. The placebo effect, hypnosis, and
suggestion all provide vivid examples of the organism's intrinsic healing capacities. Ways in which positive expectancy can be mobilized will be explored.

EMOTIONS, IMMUNITY AND THE HEART
Robert Ornstein, Ph.D.
Emotions are innate responses which enable us to deal with challenges, but can also have profound effects on health. Recent studies reveal that emotions have specific patterns of activation, different effects on the immune system and different associations with the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Further, the way we manage emotions, especially anger, may have profound effects on heart disease.

STRESS-RESISTANCE: WHO STAYS HEALTHY UNDER STRESS?
David S. Sobel, M.D.
Not everyone exposed to stress becomes ill. What are the characteristics which distinguish those who remain healthy in the face of stress? The role of personality, coping strategies and social support in the maintenance of health and resistance to disease will be explored.

THE SLEEPING BRAIN
Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D.
We spend nearly a third of our lives asleep. Recent research clearly demonstrates that sleep is an active brain process with significant implications for healthy functioning. What are the functions of sleep? What is a "normal" amount of sleep? What do sleep disorders such as insomnia and nightmares reveal about the functions of sleep and how can healthy sleep be restored?

AWAKE IN YOUR DREAMS: SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF LUCID DREAMING
Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D.
Recent research demonstrates that it is possible to dream while knowing that we are dreaming. This "lucid dreaming" permits one to consciously respond to the dream and has major implications for mental health and mind-body relationships. Practical suggestions on how to learn to control dreams and thereby open this neglected avenue of human development will be discussed.

Guest Speakers:

ROBERT E. ORNSTEIN, Ph.D., President of the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge. His research interests include the function of the two hemispheres of the brain, perception and communication in the human sciences. He is author of several books, including The Amazing Brain, The Psychology of Consciousness, Psychology: The Study of Human Experience and the recent book, The Healing Brain.

STEPHEN LA BERGE, Ph.D., Research Associate in the departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Stanford University. His primary research has been in the study of consciousness during sleep about which he has written in the scientific literature as well as in the popular book Lucid Dreaming.

DAVID S. SOBEL, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Program Director of the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge and Director of Patient Education and Health Promotion for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California. His current areas of interest include behavioral medicine, health promotion and public health education. He is editor of Ways of Health: Holistic Approaches to Ancient and Contemporary Medicine and co-author of The Healing Brain.

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