A double blind randomized controlled trial of Maharishi Vedic vibration technology in subjects with arthritis.

To explore ancient Vedic medical techniques, one hundred and seventy-six subjects with arthritis participated in a controlled study through the non-pharmacologic approach known as the Maharishi Vedic Vibration Technology (MVVT). Using a double-blinded and randomized experimental design, the findings showed significant reductions of pain and stiffness, and improvement in range of motion in the study sample. One hundred percent relief of symptoms was the most commonly reported category of improvement due to treatment. For the group as a whole, differences in mean response of treatment and control conditions with respect to relief of pain, limitation of motion, and reduction in stiffness were highly significant: t values ranged from a low of 5.609 in stiffness to a high of 20.950 in pain, p = 0.000009 to <10-49 respectively. Analysis by sub-categories of peripheral arthritis, painful conditions of the spine, and rheumatoid arthritis likewise produced significant results. Mechanisms of action were proposed, drawing on Maharishi Vedic Science, developments in quantum field theory, and specifically the theories of chaos and self-organizing systems as they relate to physiological functioning. The instantaneous relief of pain and improvement in function in such a high proportion of subjects with chronic arthritis is unparalleled in modern medical science

Maharishi Vedic vibration technology on chronic disorders and associated quality of life.

There is a growing interest for more effective, innovative programs to address the chronic illness suffered by approximately 40 percent of the U.S. population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a new Maharishi Vedic Medicine program-the Maharishi Vedic Vibration Technology-on the quality of life of individuals with chronic disorders. A total of 213 individuals took part in the study (mean age=48.55 years; average length of time of chronic illness=18.42 years). Results showed that over three sessions, the average self-reported improvement in chronic illness was 40.97 percent. Conditions related to neck pain improved the most (51.25%), followed by respiratory ailments (48.00%), digestive problems (46.90%), mental health, including anxiety and depression (46.34%), arthritis (41.57%), insomnia (37.38%), back pain (36.32%), headaches (35.83%), cardiovascular conditions (22.31%), and eye problems (21.19%). Findings also showed significant reductions in frequency of discomfort or pain (p<.000001), intensity of discomfort (p<.000001), and disabling effects of the discomfort in daily activity (p<.000001), in addition to overall improvement in mental health (p<.000001) and vitality (p<.000125). Possible mechanisms of action are presented.

Time series analysis of improved quality of life in Canada: social change, collective consciousness, and the TM-Sidhi program.

Two replication studies test in Canada a field theory of the effect of consciousness on social change. The exogenous variable is the number of participants in the largest North American group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, in Iowa. The first study indicated a significant reduction in violent deaths (homicide, suicide, and motor vehicle fatalities), using both time series intervention analysis and transfer function analysis methods, in weeks following change in the exogenous variable during the period 1983 to 1985. The second study, using time series intervention analysis, gave during and after intervention periods a significant improvement in quality of life on an index composed of the behavioral variables available on a monthly basis for Canada from 1972 to 1986-homicide, suicide, motor vehicle fatalities, cigarette consumption, and workers' days lost due to strikes. Implications of the findings for theory and social policy are noted briefly.

Elevated serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs.

Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels were measured in 270 men and 153 women who were experienced practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs, mental techniques practiced twice daily, sitting quietly with the eyes closed. These were compared according to sex and 5-year age grouping to 799 male and 453 female nonmeditators. The mean DHEA-S levels in the TM group were higher in all 11 of the age groups measured in women and in 6 of 7 5-year age groups over 40 in men. There were no systematic differences in younger men. Simple regression using TM-group data revealed that this effect was independent of diet, body mass index, and exercise. The mean TM-group levels measured in all women and in the older men were generally comparable to those of nonmeditator groups 5 to 10 years younger. These findings suggest that some characteristics of TM practitioners are modifying the age-related deterioration in DHEA-S secretion by the adrenal cortex.

High frequency scalp potentials evoked by a reaction time task.

'Bursts' of high frequency (20-80 Hz) extracellular electrical activity are the signature of the brain mechanism mediating recognition of odors in rabbits and cats. To test the hypothesis that a similar mechanism may be functional in man outside the olfactory system, relationships were studied between bursts of 20-150 Hz scalp EEG and parameters of performance during visual reaction time tasks. Specific findings indicated that (1) muscle artifacts were not the primary source of identified EEG bursts, (2) the mechanism which produces the bursts may be similar in both rabbit olfactory bulb and human neocortex, (3) visual task performance may be mediated by the brain areas which produced the bursts, and (4) burst activity varied with changes in performance which may be associated with attention and learning.

Participation in the transcendental meditation program and frontal EEG coherence during concept learning.

This study assesses variation in frontal bilateral EEG coherence among normal subjects during trials of a concept learning task; the task used a concept-reversal paradigm found from prior research to distinguish frontal lobe patients from normal adults. Subjects were either participants in the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program or controls matched for age, sex, and intellectual ability, and additional experimental factors were whether or not the subject gained information on a given trial and whether or not the trial occurred before, during, or after the shift of concept. It was hypothesized that: (1) higher frontal EEG coherence (alpha and beta frequencies) would be associated with trials on which information was gained; (2) higher coherence in the same frequencies would be found in the two concept-solution periods in contrast to the concept-reversal period that divided them; and (3) these patterns would be more clearly expressed among TM program participants. Each hypothesis received partial support. The first hypothesis was true only for TM program participants for alpha coherence, and only during the first concept-solution period for beta coherence. The second hypothesis was true for alpha coherence only, and the third hypothesis received support for alpha coherence. Results were not attributable to muscle or eye artifacts. However, a different response style was found to the change in concept among the two groups; control subjects displayed greater arousal (muscle artifact) during the concept-reversal period, while TM program participants displayed less arousal.

Academic achievement and the paired Hoffman reflex in students practicing meditation.

The paired H reflex, considered to be the electrically evoked counterpart of the monosynaptic stretch reflex, provides a measure of motoneuron excitability under a variety of experimental and clinical conditions. It also offers a potentially useful tool in examining the neurophysiologic basis of alterations in reflex response in different states of awareness. This study investigated the relationship between the paired H reflex and academic achievement in students practicing the Transcendental Meditation program. The paired H reflex correlated significantly with grade point average, but not with SAT scores or any of three IQ measurements. These results suggest that the facilitation period of the paired H-reflex recovery curve may be a useful indicator of academic achievement, perhaps as a result of its relationship to awareness or wakefulness level.

Systolic blood pressure and long-term practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program: effects of TM on systolic blood pressure.

Systolic blood pressure was measured in 112 subjects practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs. The subjects were between the ages of 35 and 64 years. A significant difference was found between the systolic blood pressures of subjects (matched for sex, race, and general educational background) practicing the TM and TM-Sidhi programs and norms for the general population. This difference was independent of diet and exercise patterns but related to length of time meditating. A significant difference was also found between short-term (under 5 years) and long-term (over 5 years) participants of the TM program, covarying for age. No previous reports exist concerning the long-term effects of the TM program on blood pressure. Despite methodological problems associated with cross sectional data, the findings suggest the beneficial effects of the long-term practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs on systolic blood pressure. Even if self-selection plays a role, the characteristics of an easily identifiable group already showing traits beneficial to the general population deserves further study.

Modification of the paired H reflex through the transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi program.

The paired H reflex, considered to be the electrically evoked counterpart of the monosynaptic stretch reflex, provides a measure of motoneuron excitability under a variety of experimental and clinical conditions. This study investigated the longitudinal effects of an advanced meditation program (the TM-Sidhi program) on the paired H reflex at nine delay intervals (50, 70, 100, 150, 200, 250, 333, 500, and 1000 ms). An experimental group of 14 subjects with no mental or motor disorders was instructed in an advanced TM program known as the TM-Sidhi program and the control group (N = 8) practiced the TM technique only. The amplitude of the paired H reflex was significantly facilitated in the experimental male subjects at intervals 100 through 250 ms, whereas the experimental female subjects and controls showed no significant change. These results extend previous studies showing distinct physiologic differences between subjects practicing these two programs and are of additional interest because they show that the H reflex can be modified in normal subjects.

Intersubject EEG coherence: is consciousness a field?

EEG coherence was measured between pairs of three different subjects during a one-hour period practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program. Coherence between subjects was evaluated for two sequential fifteen minute periods. On six experimental days, these periods preceded and then coincided with a fifteen minute period during which 2500 students participated in the TM-Sidhi program at a course over 1000 miles away. After the course had ended coherence was evaluated on six control days. It was found that intersubject coherence was generally low, between 0.35 and 0.4, with coherence in the alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (16-20 Hz) frequencies significantly higher than at other frequencies. On the experimental days, intersubject EEG coherence increased during the experimental period relative to the fifteen minute baseline period immediately preceding the experimental period. Coherence increased significantly from baseline to experimental periods on experimental days compared with control days (p = 0.02). This effect was particularly evident in the alpha and beta frequencies. The results reinforce previous sociological studies showing decreased social disorder in the vicinity of TM and TM-Sidhi participants and are discussed in terms of a field theoretic view of consciousness.

The effects of the transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi program on the aging process.

To evaluate the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi program on the aging process, a standardized test of biological aging, utilizing auditory threshold, near point vision, and systolic blood pressure, was given to a cross-sectional group (N = 84) with a mean age of 53 years. There were 11 controls, 33 short-term TM and TM-Sidhi participants, and 40 long-term participants. The mean biological age of the controls was 2.2 years younger than for the general population; of the short-term TM subjects, 5.0 years younger; of the long-term TM subjects, 12.0 years younger. The difference between the groups was significant covarying for a diet factor. Also, there was a significant correlation between length of time practicing the TM program and biological age (r = -0.46). Together with numerous physiological and psychological studies conducted on the TM and TM-Sidhi program, this study suggests that the TM program may affect certain neural mechanisms which in turn influence age correlated physiological variables.

Short-term longitudinal effects of the transcendental meditation technique on EEG power and coherence.

EEG alpha coherence and slow alpha power were recorded from frontal and occipital derivations during relaxation or the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique in fifteen subjects. Subjects were tested before and after a two-week baseline period in which half practiced twice daily relaxation and half did not change their schedule. All subjects were then instructed in the TM technique and retested after a two-week period of twice daily practice of the technique. During the first two-week period there were no group differences or group by session interactions, but there was a significant effect of repeated measurement, indicating a decrease in occipital power independent of group. After the two-week TM technique period, subjects showed a significant increase in frontal alpha coherence above a 0.95 threshold. Frontal alpha coherence was found to be a more sensitive discriminator of the TM technique than alpha power, which may clarify previously reported nonsignificant EEG differences between the TM technique and general relaxation.

Frontal EEG coherence, H-reflex recovery, concept learning, and the TM-Sidhi program.

This study investigated the relationship between frontal bilateral EEG coherence, H-reflex recovery (an index of CNS flexibility), and solution of a concept learning problem on which the correct concept is reversed during the task. It also assessed the longitudinal effect of the TM-Sidhi program on concept learning among the same sample of college students. Frontal EEG coherence and H-reflex recovery were significantly correlated with flexible performance on the concept learning task following the reversal. Instruction in the TM-Sidhi program significantly improved efficiency of concept-learning performance before the concept was reversed, although not afterward.

The effect of the Transcendental Meditation technique on anxiety level.

Two weeks of twice-daily practice of the transcendental Meditation (TM) technique was compared with 2 weeks of twice-daily practice of passive relaxation as a means of reduction of anxiety, as measured by the Trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Thirty-three graduate and undergraduate students were assigned randomly to a relaxation group and a TM group. After a 2-week experimental interval, the relaxation and meditation Ss, as well as between conditions of the relaxation-mediation group; TM was significantly more effective in reducing anxiety level. Thus, the anxiety-reducing effect of the practice of TM cannot be attributed merely to sitting quietly twice daily, although additional research must determine the extent to which S expectations for change contributed to this effect.