Seiya Uchida

Effect of Biofield Therapy in the Human Brain

OBJECTIVES The effects of Okada Purifying Therapy (OPT), a form of subtle energy (biofield) therapy that originated in Japan, were investigated. Electroencephalograms and the Profile of Mood States scores were measured using a crossover design during OPT and placebo sessions. PARTICIPANTS Nineteen (19) healthy Japanese adults (mean age±standard deviation: 40.8±11.2 years; 10 females) with no previous experience of biofield therapy participated in this study. METHODS Each session lasted 15 minutes. A single-blind, randomized design with a protocol consisting of regular cycles with eyes open followed by eyes closed was used. The power spectral value was calculated in θ (4.0-7.9 Hz), α (8.0-12.9 Hz), and β (13.0-29.9 Hz) frequency ranges. RESULTS The power spectral value of the α band at F(p1), F(p2), F(7), F(z), F(8), C(3), C(z), C(4), and P(z) increased significantly in the OPT session compared with the placebo session. Mood state was improved after both sessions, and no significant difference was found between the two sessions. CONCLUSIONS OPT was more effective in increasing α waves in the frontal and central cortex than a placebo treatment.

Depressive symptoms and spiritual wellbeing in Japanese university students

A scale was developed to broadly assess spirituality and to examine the association between depressive symptoms and spiritual attitudes of Japanese university students. In 2011, students in two universities (n = 527) participated in the study by completing the Self-Rating Questionnaire for Depression (SRQ-D), the 25-Item Sky Spirituality Scale (SS-25) and responding to questions on lifestyle and religiosity. The reliability and validity of the SS-25 were verified using the Cronbachs alpha coefficient and factor analysis. Results indicated that female students had higher total SS-25 scores. Moreover, there was a weak negative correlation between the SRQ-D and SS-25. The multiple linear regression model with gender and age as covariates also indicated that the life satisfaction domain was strongly associated with depression (beta = -0.418) and that the social connections domain was weakly associated with depression (beta = -0.147). Results of an analysis of covariance adjusted for gender and age indicated that students who believed in religion had higher total SS-25 scores and higher scores on the pious mind domain of SS-25. These results demonstrated that multi-dimensionality of spiritualty overlaps with mental health. Moreover, the results suggested that the SS-25 is a valid instrument for assessing spirituality in university students.