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I assume your parent commenter is referring to the general concept of 'qi', and its manipulation in practices such as Qigong. If there really does exist a direc

I assume your parent commenter is referring to the general concept of 'qi', and its manipulation in practices such as Qigong. If there really does exist a direct linkage between the brain and the immune system, the idea that through focused effort we can in fact change qualities of our health becomes much less radical. These ideas have already been partially validated in the multitude of studies showing the positive effects of mindfulness practice/meditation.

shostack 11y ago
Not being overly familiar with the depth of research around Eastern concepts like 'qi,' can you share any insights around the depth of Western medical research that have attempted to explain it under more measurable standards? I'd be shocked if a concept so widely believed in like that had not gone under insane scrutiny by Western practitioners.
- contingencies 11y ago
  'Qi', or more accurately 氣 (traditional) or 气 (simplified) dates way back to very early Chinese history and is not exclusively used in the medical or health fields. In later and current periods of Chinese history it's usually considered to mean air or breath, but also vital energy or life force, this latter sense being the sense in which it is deployed for traditional medicinal techniques such as 'Qigong' - 氣功（traditional) or 气功 (simplified) - which is literally '[getting positive results from] [the energy]'. However, not many people are aware that initially it was used to refer to 'sickening vapors that rise from a corpse' (an early concept for bacterial/airborne illness, a concept later repurposed in premodern Chinese medicinal thinking to describe the acquisition of malaria and similar illnesses in tropical areas). Qi today is basically a catch-all word for energy flowing (possibly 'in a manner roughly like vapor') and could be reasonably roughly seen, from a medical perspective, to refer to the combined effect of circulatory, lymphatic and respiratory systems. Being such a vague term, approaching it from a western perspective seems difficult. You would perhaps get further looking for western studies of the health benefits of Qigong practice.
  - shostack 11y ago
    Fascinating--thanks for sharing.
spydum 11y ago
Exactly this. While the concepts had no reasonable explanation of "how" they work given our present understanding of biology, that does not mean there wasn't a real mechanism at play here. Heck, this exact linkage could entirely explain the placebo effect, couldn't it?
nanofortnight 11y ago
> If there really does exist a direct linkage between the brain and the immune system The interaction of the CNS and the immune system has been more recently studied over the past 10 years. This field is known as neuroimmunology. The most recent and obvious clinical application of neuroimmunology are vagal nerve implants, where stimulation of the vagus nerve can help improve vagal tone and reduce inflammation. Meditation is another well known method of improving vagal tone; however, we live in a society of quick fixes.

shostack 11y ago

Not being overly familiar with the depth of research around Eastern concepts like 'qi,' can you share any insights around the depth of Western medical research that have attempted to explain it under more measurable standards? I'd be shocked if a concept so widely believed in like that had not gone under insane scrutiny by Western practitioners.

contingencies 11y ago
'Qi', or more accurately 氣 (traditional) or 气 (simplified) dates way back to very early Chinese history and is not exclusively used in the medical or health fields. In later and current periods of Chinese history it's usually considered to mean air or breath, but also vital energy or life force, this latter sense being the sense in which it is deployed for traditional medicinal techniques such as 'Qigong' - 氣功（traditional) or 气功 (simplified) - which is literally '[getting positive results from] [the energy]'. However, not many people are aware that initially it was used to refer to 'sickening vapors that rise from a corpse' (an early concept for bacterial/airborne illness, a concept later repurposed in premodern Chinese medicinal thinking to describe the acquisition of malaria and similar illnesses in tropical areas). Qi today is basically a catch-all word for energy flowing (possibly 'in a manner roughly like vapor') and could be reasonably roughly seen, from a medical perspective, to refer to the combined effect of circulatory, lymphatic and respiratory systems. Being such a vague term, approaching it from a western perspective seems difficult. You would perhaps get further looking for western studies of the health benefits of Qigong practice.
- shostack 11y ago
  Fascinating--thanks for sharing.

spydum 11y ago

Exactly this. While the concepts had no reasonable explanation of "how" they work given our present understanding of biology, that does not mean there wasn't a real mechanism at play here. Heck, this exact linkage could entirely explain the placebo effect, couldn't it?

nanofortnight 11y ago

> If there really does exist a direct linkage between the brain and the immune system The interaction of the CNS and the immune system has been more recently studied over the past 10 years. This field is known as neuroimmunology. The most recent and obvious clinical application of neuroimmunology are vagal nerve implants, where stimulation of the vagus nerve can help improve vagal tone and reduce inflammation. Meditation is another well known method of improving vagal tone; however, we live in a society of quick fixes.