Transcultural Perspective on Consciousness: A Bridge Between Anthropology, Medicine and Physics

  The Unesco Chair "Anthropology of Health, biosphere and Healing System" inside the University of Genoa (IT) is a unique experience inside the University of Genoa that stems from a cultural necessity to fill and a wealth of knowledge to preserve health, environment and treatment strategies considered strictly connected in modern medicine. This new, integrated approach contradicts and overcomes the traditional separation between humanities and scientific medicine and treatments. Health and approach to treatment strategies are not uniform around the worlds; the universal baseline is quality assurance of investigation in science The need to establish connections between Medicine, especially in the therapeutic aspect (healing), and all the information already obtained from the mind-matter phenomenology has led to much experimentation and theorizing in this border and transcultural area. The research group formed by anthropologist who have studied altered states of consciousness in different cultures, medical doctors, quantum physicists and molecular biologists will try to define a transcultural perspective on consciousness merging anthropology, medicine and physics.  In particular, the research field site is located in Mayantuyacu, a traditional healing center located in the Peruvian Amazon where the ancient art of ashanika healing is set. Mayantuyacu is situated on the bank of a river with thermal water at 100 ° flowing in the middle of the forest. Around the central Maloca, where is the common life, were built to accommodate malocas other people who come to Mayantuyacu to know and to seek treatment from knowing millennial ashanika and properties of thousands of plants including plants teacher. The following elements were firstly analyzed and considered the bridge from a traditional healing system to a new paradigm in medicine:                1. music called icaros,                2. master plants like ayahuasca involved during the healing ceremonies

Dal rito dell’incubazione alla psicoterapia

In origine, in Occidente la medicina che prevedeva la cura del corpo, della mente e dello spirito era un’arte divinatoria. Nel corso del tempo il termine «divinazione» ha perso il suo significato originale nel corso dei secoli, rispetto ai tempi antichi e, in particolare, al mondo arcaico greco, in cui ha avuto un enorme valore. L’arte di Asclepio, è, come quella del padre Apollo, arte divina che presuppone un rito di guarigione. A questo proposito, possiamo ricordare che in ambito terapeutico le ricerche storico-antropologiche registrano in molte culture di tipo sciamanico (Sud America, Siberia, India) un utilizzo molto antico di «piante maestre», ovvero piante che, grazie alle loro proprietà, permettono di raggiungere «Stati non ordinari» di coscienza. Tali stati di coscienza possono sorgere attraverso diverse pratiche, come la meditazione, la respirazione olotropica, lo yoga, la deprivazione sensoriale, o addirittura a livello spontaneo come nel caso dei mistici cristiani. L’esperienza contemporanea riportata dai ricercatori ci sta offendo dati molto incoraggianti sui benefici di questo tipo di esperienze. La ricerca sviluppata negli USA e in Europa in Spagna e Svizzera, tende a seguire protocolli di ricerca, in cui giocano un ruolo fondamentale il Set (lo stato attuale ma anche la storia clinica e biografica del paziente), il Setting (l’ambiente in cui avviene l’esperienza) e la sostanza (tipologia, dosaggio, qualità e quantità). Le sfide per il futuro in ambito psicoterapeutico sull’utilizzo terapeutico delle sostanze psicoattive sono ancora molte, una possibilità concreta potrebbe essere quella di rivitalizzare l’utilizzo rituale delle sostanze unendo passato e presente, antiche conoscenze e moderna scienza a servizio della cura

Neurotheology of islam and higher consciousness states

Generally speaking, human life is characterized by an array of experiences, which, both in health and disease, can have a spiritual/religious dimension. In the last decades, spirituality/religiosity has attracted a huge body of research and neurotheology or spiritual neuroscience is emerging as a modern multidisciplinary field aimed at understanding religious experiences and practices, as well its impact on well-being, with a focus on mental health, and its potential therapeutic implications in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. For this purpose, neurotheology combines a variety of approaches and theoretical frameworks, deriving influences from theology, divinities and religious studies, philosophy, sociology, cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, and anthropology. Available scientific evidences seem to suggest that Islam and Sufism (prayer and meditation) can contribute to the achievement of higher consciousness states

Outcomes evaluation of ORTHOS: an intensive residential program for gambling addiction treatment

Según el DSM-V, la ludopatía puede definirse como una "adicción al juego problemática, persistente y recurrente que conduce a un deterioro o angustia clínicamente significativos", no mejor definido por un episodio maníaco. ORTHOS es un programa de intervención residencial intensiva de tres semanas con tres reuniones de seguimiento durante el año posterior a intervenciones residenciales intensivas. La filosofía de ORTHOS prevé un enfoque no moralista y perjudicial para el juego (Zerbetto, 2002). Los hallazgos del presente estudio confirman la eficacia del tratamiento con ORTHOS en comparación con la reducción de los síntomas de juego, con más del 85% de la muestra en la que los síntomas ya no manifestaron relevancia clínica (puntuaciones inferiores a 5 en SOGS).According to the DSM-V, gambling can be defined as a “persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress”, not better defined by a manic episode. ORTHOS is a three-week intensive residential intervention program with three follow- up meetings during the year following intensive residential interventions. ORTHOS’ philosophy envisages a non-moralistic and prejudicial approach to gambling (Zerbetto, 2002). The findings of the present study confirm the efficacy of ORTHOS treatment compared to the reduction of gambling symptoms, with over 85% of the sample in which the symptoms manifested no longer clinical relevance (scores below 5 in SOGS).peerReviewe

Ramadan Fasting and Patients with Cancer: State-of-the-Art and Future Prospects

Ramadan fasting represents one of the five pillars of the Islam creed. Even though some subjects (among which patients) are exempted from observing this religious duty, they may be eager to share this particular moment of the year with their family and peers. However, there are no guidelines or standardized protocols that can help physicians to properly address the issue of patients with cancer fasting in Ramadan and correctly advising them. Moreover, in a more interconnected and globalized society, in which more and more Muslim patients live in the Western countries, this topic is of high interest also for the general practitioner. For this purpose, we carried out a systematic review on the subject. Our main findings are that (1) very few studies have been carried out, addressing this issue, (2) evidence concerning quality of life and compliance to treatment is contrasting and scarce, and (3) generally speaking, few patients ask their physicians whether they can safely fast or not. For these reasons, further research should be performed, given the relevance and importance of this topic

Cannabis Essential Oil: A Preliminary Study for the Evaluation of the Brain Effects

We examined the effects of essential oil from legal (THC <0.2% w/v) hemp variety on the nervous system in 5 healthy volunteers. GC/EIMS and GC/FID analysis of the EO showed that the main components were myrcene and β-caryophyllene. The experiment consisted of measuring autonomic nervous system (ANS) parameters; evaluations of the mood state; and electroencephalography (EEG) recording before treatment, during treatment, and after hemp inhalation periods as compared with control conditions. The results revealed decreased diastolic blood pressure, increased heart rate, and significant increased skin temperature. The subjects described themselves as more energetic, relaxed, and calm. The analysis EEG showed a significant increase in the mean frequency of alpha (8–13 Hz) and significant decreased mean frequency and relative power of beta 2 (18,5–30 Hz) waves. Moreover, an increased power, relative power, and amplitude of theta (4–8 Hz) and alpha brain waves activities and an increment in the delta wave (0,5–4 Hz) power and relative power was recorded in the posterior region of the brain. These results suggest that the brain wave activity and ANS are affected by the inhalation of the EO of Cannabis sativa suggesting a neuromodular activity in cases of stress, depression, and anxiety

Quantum control of hybrid nuclear-electronic qubits

Pulsed magnetic resonance is a wide-reaching technology allowing the quantum state of electronic and nuclear spins to be controlled on the timescale of nanoseconds and microseconds respectively. The time required to flip either dilute electronic or nuclear spins is orders of magnitude shorter than their decoherence times, leading to several schemes for quantum information processing with spin qubits. We investigate instead the novel regime where the eigenstates approximate 50:50 superpositions of the electronic and nuclear spin states forming "hybrid nuclear-electronic" qubits. Here we demonstrate quantum control of these states for the first time, using bismuth-doped silicon, in just 32 ns: this is orders of magnitude faster than previous experiments where pure nuclear states were used. The coherence times of our states are five orders of magnitude longer, reaching 4 ms, and are limited by the naturally-occurring 29Si nuclear spin impurities. There is quantitative agreement between our experiments and no-free-parameter analytical theory for the resonance positions, as well as their relative intensities and relative Rabi oscillation frequencies. In experiments where the slow manipulation of some of the qubits is the rate limiting step, quantum computations would benefit from faster operation in the hybrid regime.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, new data and simulation

Development and Preliminary Validation of the “Teacher of Physical Education Burnout Inventory” (TPEBI) in Arabic Language: Insights for Sports and Occupational Psychology

Background: Burnout is an inappropriate response to chronic work stress, leading to emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (D), and low personal accomplishment (PA). Burnout can affect workers in the helping professions. To quantitatively assess the burnout level among teachers, Maslach has adapted the “Maslach Burnout Inventory” (MBI) to the educational environment (the so-called MBI Educators Survey version or MBI-ES). Among teachers, sports and physical education teachers may suffer from burnout due to high workload.Aims: No reliable psychometric tool in Arabic language exists that can be used to measure the burnout level among sports and physical education teachers. The objective of the present study was to develop a burnout measurement scale according to the Maslach’s three-dimensional theoretical model for physical education teachers in Tunisia and to test its factor structure, in terms of internal consistency/reliability, predictive validity, and sensitivity.Methods: A total of 525 Tunisian teachers teaching in secondary schools from different Tunisian governorates volunteered to participate in this study. The sample comprised of 285 males (54.3%) and of 240 females (45.7%). More in detail, 327 were teachers of primary school of physical education (62.3%) and 198 teachers of secondary school (37.7%). Teachers were administered both the ad hoc developed “Teacher of Physical Education Burnout Inventory” (TPEBI) and the MBI-ES. Both exploratory [principal component analysis (PCA)] and confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed.Results: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were excellent (0.93, 0.94, and 0.91 for EE, D, and PA, respectively). The correlation matrix indicated significant correlations between the TPEBI and MBI-ED dimensions. However, CFA fit indices were not completely satisfactory.Conclusion: Given the good PCA factor loadings, the correlation matrix, the sensitivity analysis, and the excellent internal consistency, it can be concluded that the TPEBI is a reliable psychometric tool that can be used to quantitatively assess the burnout level among teachers of physical education in the Arabic-speaking world. However, considering the CFA fit indices, further modifications to fully support the model are warranted