Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

6 papers

Therapeutic effect of forest bathing on human hypertension in the elderly

Genxiang Mao, Yong-Bao Cao, Xiao-Guang Lan, Zhihua He, Zhuo-Mei Chen, Yazhen Wang, et al.
Journal of Cardiology Summary & key facts 2012 227 citations

In a randomized trial of 24 elderly people with essential hypertension (12 in each group), one group spent 7 days and nights in a broad‑leaved evergreen forest and the other stayed in an urban area. After the trip, the forest group had a significant drop in blood pressure compared with…

Biofield Effects and Biophysics Therapeutic Uses of Natural Elements Urban Green Space and Health

Moderate Pressure Massage Elicits a Parasympathetic Nervous System Response

Miguel Diego, Tiffany Field

In a randomized trial of 20 healthy adults, researchers recorded EKGs during a 3-minute baseline, a 15-minute massage, and a 3-minute postmassage period. Moderate pressure massage raised the high-frequency (HF) heart-rate variability measure and lowered the LF/HF ratio, which the authors say indicates increased parasympathetic (vagal) activity peaking in the…

Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Progressive brain changes in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: A longitudinal MRI study

Zack Shan, Richard Kwiatek, Richard Burnet, Peter Del Fante, Donald Staines, Sonya Marshall‐Gradisnik, et al.

The results suggested that CFS is associated with IFOF WM deficits which continue to deteriorate at an abnormal rate. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:1301-1311.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Effect of long-term yoga training on autonomic function among the healthy adults

R Shobana, Maheshkumar Kuppusamy, Sankaralingam Thirupathy Venkateswaran, M Bagavad Geetha, R. Padmavathi

This small cross-sectional study compared 33 regular yoga practitioners with 35 non‑practitioners aged 17–30. The yoga group had a lower resting heart rate (about 69 vs 81 bpm) and a smaller blood‑pressure response on the sustained handgrip test (about 10.2 vs 16.3), differences the authors report as statistically significant. Other…

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions Stress Responses and Cortisol

Feeling Lightheaded: The Role of Cerebral Blood Flow

Johan Bresseleers, Ilse Van Diest, Steven De Peuter, Peter Verhamme, Omer Van den Bergh
Psychosomatic Medicine Summary & key facts 2010 20 citations

Researchers tested 33 healthy people to see how lightheadedness and brain blood flow are linked. During hyperventilation that lowered CO2, people's reports of lightheadedness matched drops in cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv). After a few such episodes, a smell that had been paired with hyperventilation later triggered more lightheadedness and…

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control Pain Management and Placebo Effect Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Cardiac arrest after ibogaine intoxication

Christian Steinberg, Marc W. Deyell
Journal of Arrhythmia Summary & key facts 2018 15 citations

Ibogaine is a psychoactive herbal medication with alleged antiaddiction properties. We report a case of ibogaine intoxication mimicking Long-QT syndrome resulting in ventricular flutter and nearby cardiac arrest. A 61-year-old man experienced massive QT prolongation and ventricular flutter at a rate of 270 beats per minute requiring defibrillation after ingestion…

Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias Ion channel regulation and function Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
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