Brain Activity at Rest Provides Clue to Intelligence

Human pupillary dilatation after topical instillation of phenylephrine was assessed in a prospective, randomized, controlled experiment to measure alterations in α-end-organ responsivity after regular elicitation of the relaxation response. Baseline pupillometric measurements were taken in both experimental and control subjects. The experimental subjects then practiced daily a technique that elicited the relaxation response while the control subjects sat quietly for comparable periods […]

The authors compared characteristics of 1,012 outpatients completing a 10-week behavioral medicine intervention with 300 outpatients who dropped out. They administered the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90R) before and after the program. Patients who completed the treatment, compared with dropouts, tended to be more highly educated, married, and gainfully employed. Their pretreatment scores on the SCL-90R were significantly lower than those of the dropouts on somatization, depressi […]

Objective: To replicate previously reported psychological improvements in infertile women attending a group behavioral treatment program. Design: Psychological and demographic data were collected before entering and again upon completion of a behavioral medicine program on a second cohort of patients. Setting: The program was offered in the Division of Behavioral Medicine, an outpatient clinic of the Department of Medicine at New England Deaconess Hospital. All patients were receivi […]