.
Why do we feel the way we feel?
Until recently, Emotion was virtually impossible to define.
The
kinds of questions that needed to be answered include: how emotion is
manifest,
how memory and emotion interact, whether emotion is concrete (real) or
conceptual
(a construct), if concrete, how emotion acts in the body, and how
unexpressed
emotion is stored. How do our thoughts and emotions affect our
health?
Are our bodies and minds distinct from each other or do they function
together
as parts of an interconnected system?
Candace Pert, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist whose extraordinary
career
provides startling and decisive answers to these and other challenging
questions
that scientists and philosophers have pondered for centuries. Her
groundbreaking
book is Molecules
of Emotion, the science behind mind and body medicine,
published
by Simon and Schuster.
For Dr. Pert, the mind is not just in the brain -- it
is
also in the body. The vehicle that the mind and body use to communicate
with
each other is the chemistry of emotion. The chemicals in question are
molecules,
short chains of amino acids called peptides and receptors, that she
believes
to be the "biochemical correlate of emotion." The peptides
can be found in your brain, but also in your stomach, your muscles,
your glands
and all your major organs, sending messages back and forth. After
decades
of research, Dr. Pert is finally able to make clear how emotion creates
the
bridge between mind and body.
Her pioneering research on how the chemicals inside our
bodies
form a dynamic information network, linking mind and body, is not only
provocative,
it is revolutionary. By establishing the biomolecular basis for our
emotions
and explaining these new scientific developments in a clear and
accessible
way, Dr. Pert empowers us to understand ourselves, our feelings, and
the
connection between our minds and our bodies -- or bodyminds -- in ways
we
could never have imagined before. From explaining how there is a
scientific
basis to popular wisdom about phenomena such as 'gut feelings,' to
making
recent breakthroughs in cancer and AIDS research, Dr. Pert provides us
with
an intellectual adventure of the highest order.
Molecules of Emotion is a landmark work, full of
insight
and wisdom and possessing that rare power to change the way we see the
world
and ourselves. Dr. Pert's striking conclusion that it is our emotions
and
their biological components that establish the crucial link between
mind
and body does not, however, serve to repudiate modern medicine's gains;
rather,
her findings complement existing techniques by offering a new
scientific
understanding of the power of our minds and our feelings to affect our
health
and well-being.
As a research professor at Georgetown Medical Center
in Washington,
Dr. Pert is one of the scientists on Bill Moyers' PBS series 'Healing
and
the Mind.' The journey Dr. Pert takes us on in Molecules of Emotionis
one of personal as well as scientific discovery. Woven into her lucid
explanations
of the science underlying her work is the remarkable story of how,
faced
with personal and professional obstacles, she has grown as a woman and
a
mother and how her personal and spiritual development has made possible
her
remarkable scientific career.
She offers a rare glimpse of the ruthless competition for
prizes
and money that sometimes obscures the pursuit of truth. Because of her
protests
over her exclusion from the prestigious Lasker Award, her reputation
among
scientists was more that of feminist troublemaker than pathfinder.
Certainly
the picture she draws here of the science establishment would seem to
suggest
a world of aggressive, even ruthless, alpha males fighting for the top
prize.
She also traces her own evolution from competitive bench scientist to
explorer
of personal healing modalities. The death of her father, the end of her
marriage,
her resignation from the NIH, her embracing of the Christian faith, and
her
discovery of the healing power of dreams—all were, she says,
life-shaping
events.
Trained as a pharmacologist, Dr. Pert discovered the opiate
receptor
in 1972, the structure on the surface of a cell that allows it to admit
outside
substances, such as nutrients and hormones. Malfunctions in the
operation
of cell receptors can cause disease. Dr. Pert also explains her theory
that neuropeptides
and their receptors are the biochemicals of emotions, carrying
information
in a vast network linking the material world of molecules with the
non-material
world of the psyche.
Dr. Pert explains that perception and awareness play a vital
part
in health and longevity. She is able to explain how her research
bridges the
mind and body gap that is sadly prevalent in modern traditional
medicine.
Her views on mind-body cellular communication mesh well with the
concepts
of energy held by many alternative therapies, and she is now, not
surprisingly,
a popular lecturer on the wellness circuit. Her book describes an
eight-part
program for a healthy lifestyle, and she has appended an extensive list
of
alternative medicine resources. For all of those who have sought
out
complementary medicine, this book will confirm what you have long
suspected:
that alternative approaches to health do work. Dr. Pert explains why.
The scientific basis of the components of the
molecules of
emotion has basically two parts: The receptors that receive the smaller
molecule,
kind of into themselves on the surfaces of self. The other half isthe
ligand, the small molecule that binds to the receptors. These
smaller
molecules can be drugs, hormones, or other chemicals -- chemicals made
from
within, many of which are peptides in their structure. These are
all
over, not just the brain but different parts of the body, including the
heart
and the vessels around the heart.
Does the mind come first, or chemistry? It is
the crux
of the difference between Eastern and Western thought. In Eastern, the
consciousness
precedes reality. In Western, we think consciousness is a secretion of
the
brain, like urine is a secretion of the kidneys. She writes that there
is
a very close correspondence between the highest, most concentrated
areas of
enrichment of a certain neuropeptides and where the chakras are classically
supposed
to be -- there's a striking concordance to chakra, the Eastern system
of seven
energy centers. The seven centers actually correspond in places of
enriched
neuropeptides VIP (vasoactive
intestinal peptide), which is an incredibly important
neuropeptides,
critical in regulating the neural immune switches between the brain and
the
immune system, as well as being involved in the pathogenesis of
AIDS.
She delves into the relationship between the chakras by
hypothesis
in the current Western biochemical correspondence. You don't have to be
a
scientist -- sometimes they're too skeptical about ancient wisdom
backed
up by thousands of years in practice. I think this whole chakra spinal
cord
neuropeptides correspondence is one of the hottest potential places for
therapeutics.
It's very complex, thinking of it as an integrated whole --the ancient
wisdom
of Eastern philosophy wedded with the best technique and scientific
methods
as modern science.
Do we treat physical conditions from an emotional point of
view
or vice versa? Dr. Pert says," I honestly cannot differentiate
the physical
from the mental, vice versa. The answer is you simultaneously do both,
because
they're flip sides of the same thing... I think a key word is balance,
but
I do feel that the meditation if possible twice a day in some kind of
ritualized
and not free-form form could be the cornerstone of a fitness program,
along
with exercise, which many studies have shown is the critical anti-aging
variable
in all kinds of animals and human beings."
Western medicine may say "it is all in your head" means that
whatever
is bothering a patient is therefore not important or real. According to
Dr.
Pert, the paradigm has got to shift. Even if it was entirely mental,
thinking
it's all in your head shows no awareness of the new research,
suggesting the
consciousness is a body-mind wide phenomenon.
But how does awareness actually transform matter? Dr.
Pert
believes that biophysicists will be answering that question. "I have a
feeling
and my understanding is it will involve some kind of signal -- a signal
is
information conveyed over time -- that occurs simultaneously in a
non-material
substrate and the physical substrate of the body."
Her work in San Francisco at St. Francis Hospital looks at
is whetherpeptide
T will be able to decrease virus levels in AIDS patients when added
to
existing regimens of drugs which stabilize the virus, but do not take
it to
a low enough level for people to feel uncomfortable. In the past, the
drug
has been studied for its effects as an antidote for neuroaids, and
peptide
T has been shown to reverse the mental and neurological damage caused
by the
AIDS virus.
A paper published in the Archives of Neurology in January
1998
in a three-site, sponsored, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical
trial.
Patients on peptide T improved, while the placebo group deteriorated.
The
drug has no toxic side effects of its own, and appears to be easily
tolerated
with other drugs, from the highly-effective anti-retroviral regimens.
The
hope is to see some beneficial antiviral effects in the patients, since
what
was observed in the test tube has been so dramatic. Dr. Pert and
Michael
Ruff, a colleague, visited University of Puerto Rico, where these test
tube
experiments were repeated, showing that Peptide T (HIV Peptide T)
blocks
the major form of the virus which is in about 80% of people.
Her web site, TINM stands
for
The Institute for New Medicine -- a nonprofit foundation and research
institute
at Georgetown University and School of Medicine, founded to
scientifically
examine new medicine, some of which is ancient, and to understand
things
that haven't been looked at sufficiently. Look for her tape, the title
of
which is "Your Body is Your Subconscious Mind."
Dr. Pert believes emotions are the key to our physiology --
to
coordinating all parts into a harmonious whole. It's the total
qualities that
engage different systems to act in a coordinated fashion. There's a
historical
denial of the importance of emotions in our culture, unfortunately. But
the
direct effects of shifts in consciousness on physical well-being are
being
studied.
In Molecules of Emotion you can read about the
history of
discovery of the various neuropeptides and what parts of the body
they
are in, and what roles they play in physiology, intertwined with
personal
reminisces. Candace Pert teaches the interrelatedness of body and mind
in
reachable scientific terms. She's an inspiration to all of us in her
never-ending
quest for truth and wholeness in our bodyminds. Her book reads like a
novel
with the exception of a highly technical ending with a quick, but brief
section
on what steps you can take to help yourself.
www.candacepert.com
Creative
Emotion
Approaching A Theory of Emotion - An Interview With Candace Pert, Ph.D.
By Lynn Grodzki, Fellow The New Identify
Process (NIP)
and other forms of emotive psychotherapy embrace the healing tradition
of
catharsis
Pert,
Candace Beebe, an Encarta Encyclopedia Article Titled "Pert, Candace
Beebe"
Pert, Candace Beebe (1946- ), American
neuroscientist
and pharmacologist best known for her discovery of opiate receptors in
the
brain. A receptor is a molecule with an electrically active indentation
into
The Institute for New
Medicine
Candace Pert's Book Molecules of Emotion: The
Science
Behind Mind-Body Medicine A RealAudio Interview with Candace Pert,PH.D.
Peptide
T®:Old Drug, New Information:AIDS Trial To Begin
Candace Pert
A Passion for Learning. Professional
development opportunities
for leaders in education. TW Branun brings the very best in
Professional
Development and Staff Development to your school or district.
The
Emotional Connection
Quick Survey Which of these theories do you
prefer?
James-Lange Canon-Bard Candace Pert Plutchik None of these by
CgiScripts.Net
A long-standing debate has developed around the ultimate source of
emotions.
Nexus 2000: Candace
Pert
-- featured speaker.
Neuroscientist and Research Professor whose
pioneering
research in Molecules of Emotion shows how chemicals in our bodies form
a
dynamic information network, linking mind and body (her photo is here).
Milestones in
Neuroscience
Research
Some of the best references for the events that
document
the history of the neurosciences.
WebMD - Dean
Ornish's
Life Style Components: Stress Management with Candace Pert
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Candace Pert, PhD: neuropeptides, AIDS, and the science of mind-body
healing
[interview by Bonnie Horrigan] NLM AIDSLINE
Important
note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of
the
art may have changed since the publication date. Click here to return
to
AIDSLINE main menu Altern Ther Health Med. 1995
Healing Arts
Report
Candace Pert on the chemistry of emotions When
a patient
receives bad news Dear Reader Think of all the words and phrases
relating
to the heart -- heartthrob, heart-to-heart, take heart, speak from the
heart,
follow our hearts, heartsick, heartbroken, heartache,...
Journal
of Naturopathic Medicine, Vol. 3, Number 1-- HealthWorld Online - -
HealthWorld
Online
Peptide T: A GP-120 Blocking Protein Emily
Kane, N.D.
The following is a report on a presentation by Candace Pert, Ph.D,
Professor,
Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University,
Newark,
NJ and Director of Research
Internet Neuroscience Resources - Description: Internet
Neuroscience Resources These sites provide comprehensive lists of
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