Memórias de uma vida passada?

Background : Children are sometimes found who claim to have memories of a past life. If such alleged memories can be verified they may prove relevant for the question of the mind-brain relationship. They may indicate that memory is not only stored in the brain and that mind can exist without a brain and still retain some of its memories. These possibilities are contrary to what is presently known about memory and its dependence on brain functioning. Objectives : Were to test if an independent investigator comes up with comparable findings as Stevenson of University of Virginia who has published a great number of such cases. Methods : Consisted of interviewing children who make consistent statements about a previous life and persons who have witnessed them making such statements. Three psychological studies compared children with and without past-life memories. Results : In two of three presented cases a deceased person was found who fitted the child´s statements about the previous life. Psychologically these children differ from other children, showing signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, likely because by remembering how they died in accidents or were killed. Discussion : The features of “past-life memory” cases make them relevant for question of the mind-brain relationship.Contexto : Há crianças que alegam ter memórias de uma vida passada. Se essas supostas memórias puderem ser verificadas, elas poderão ser bastante relevantes para a questão da relação mente-cérebro. Elas poderão indicar que a memória não está apenas armazenada no cérebro e que a mente pode existir sem um cérebro e ainda assim reter algumas de suas memórias. Essas possibilidades são contrárias ao que atualmente se sabe sobre memória e sua dependência do funcionamento cerebral. Objetivos : Testar se um pesquisador independente obteria achados comparáveis aos de Stevenson (Universidade da Virgínia) que publicou um grande números desses casos. Métodos : Entrevistar as crianças que faziam afirmações consistentes sobre uma vida passada e as pessoas que haviam testemunhado as crianças fazerem essas declarações. Três estudos psicológicos compararam crianças com e sem alegadas memórias de uma vida passada. Resultados : Em dois dos três casos apresentados, foi encontrada uma pessoa falecida cujas características eram compatíveis com as afirmações das crianças sobre uma vida anterior. Psicologicamente, essas crianças diferem das outras crianças, mostrando sinais de Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático, provavelmente por causa das alegadas lembranças de como elas morreram em acidentes ou foram assassinadas. Conclusões : As características dos casos de “memória de vida passada” fazem com que estas sejam relevantes para a questão da relação mente-cérebro

End-of-Life Experiences: A Survey among Physicians and Nurses in a Hospital for Anthroposophically Extended Medicine

Hintergrund: Wissenschaftliche Studien zum mentalen Zustand sterbender Personen in den Wochen und Tagen vor dem Tod liegen bisher nur vereinzelt vor. Bekannt ist, dass die Spiritualität zum Lebensende hin eine wichtigere Rolle einnimmt als zuvor. In der Anthroposophie wird davon ausgegangen, dass sich im Sterbeprozess die Seele und der Geist vom physischen Körper lösen und in die geistige Welt eingehen. Methode: Wir führten eine retrospektive Umfrage unter Ärzten und Pflegenden der Klinik Arlesheim durch. Der schriftliche Fragebogen bestand aus 60 geschlossenen und 5 offenen Fragen zu Beobachtungen und Wahrnehmungen von Erfahrungen am Lebensende (ELE). Ergebnisse: Der Rücklauf betrug 18% (21 Fragebögen). Folgende Phänomene wurden von den Befragten bei Patienten in deren letzten Lebenswochen am häufigsten beobachtet: Patienten verfügten plötzlich über viel Zuversicht und Energie; belastende Emotionen nahmen zu; Patienten nahmen phasenweise eine andere Realitätsebene wahr. ELE wurden von den Antwortenden als Quelle spirituellen Trosts für Sterbende und Angehörige empfunden. Schlussfolgerung: Ärzte und Pflegende in einem Spital für anthroposophisch erweiterte Medizin in der Schweiz berichteten von ähnlichen ELE ihrer Patientinnen und Patienten wie in zuvor in England durchgeführten Studien. Um sich im Umgang mit ELE sicherer zu fühlen, wünschten sich Ärzte und Pflegende mehr Informationen im Rahmen entsprechender Aus- oder Weiterbildungen.Background: The perceptions of dying persons during the last weeks and days of their lives have rarely been investigated. It is known that spirituality becomes more important towards the end of life. In anthroposophy, it is assumed that during the process of dying the soul and spirit are detached from the physical body and enter the spiritual world. Method: We conducted a retrospective survey among physicians and nurses working at the Klinik Arlesheim. The written questionnaire consisted of 60 closed and 5 open questions on observations and perceptions of end-of-life experiences (ELE). Results: The response rate was 18% (21 questionnaires). The phenomena observed most frequently in patients during their last weeks of life were as follows: patients suddenly possessed much confidence and energy; burdensome emotions were increased; patients commuted back and forth between different realities. The respondents described ELE as a source of spiritual comfort for the dying as well as the relatives. Conclusion: Physicians and nurses working in a hospital for anthroposophically extended medicine in Switzerland reported ELE of their patients similar to those reported in studies conducted in England. Physicians and nurses wished for more information during their education in order to feel more confident when dealing with ELE.Peer Reviewe

MMPI-2 : athugun á íslenskri gerð prófsins

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenRannsókn var gerð með íslenskri þýðingu MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) prófsins. Prófið var lagt fyrir hentugleikaúrtak 130 kvenna og 130 karla á aldrinum 20 - 70 ára. Í ljós kom að meðaltöl og staðalfrávik flestra klínískra kvarða prófsins samsvöruðu allvel bandarískum normum þess. Það sama var uppi á teningnum varðandi innihalds- og helstu viðbótarkvarða. Þykir því réttlætanlegt að styðjast við hin bandarísku norm þar til traustra íslenskra norma verður aflað.The Icelandic version of the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) was administered to a sample of ,-130 women and 130 men between the ages of 20 and 70. Means and standard deviations of most of the clinical scales corresponded well to US norms. The same was found for the content scales and the principal supplementary scales. It is concluded that it is justified to use the US norms until reliable Icelandic norms have been collected

Effectiveness of distant healing for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomised controlled partially blinded trial (EUHEALS)

Background: Distant healing, a form of spiritual healing, is widely used for many conditions but little is known about its effectiveness. Methods: In order to evaluate distant healing in patients with a stable chronic condition, we randomised 409 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) from 14 private practices for environmental medicine in Germany and Austria in a two by two factorial design to immediate versus deferred (waiting for 6 months) distant healing. Half the patients were blinded and half knew their treatment allocation. Patients were treated for 6 months and allocated to groups of 3 healers from a pool of 462 healers in 21 European countries with different healing traditions. Change in Mental Health Component Summary (MHCS) score (SF-36) was the primary outcome and Physical Health Component Summary score (PHCS) the secondary outcome. Results: This trial population had very low quality of life and symptom scores at entry. There were no differences over 6 months in post-treatment MHCS scores between the treated and untreated groups. There was a non-significant outcome (p = 0.11) for healing with PHCS (1.11; 95% CI - 0.255 to 2.473 at 6 months) and a significant effect (p = 0.027) for blinding; patients who were unblinded became worse during the trial (-1.544; 95% CI -2.913 to -0.176). We found no relevant interaction for blinding among treated patients in MHCS and PHCS. Expectation of treatment and duration of CFS added significantly to the model. Conclusions: In patients with CFS, distant healing appears to have no statistically significant effect on mental and physical health but the expectation of improvement did improve outcome. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Base