Research by the Harvard Medical School and others has demonstrated that the practice of Qigong positively affects gene expression, the immune system, nervous system, and cellular function. Qigong affects telomeres and telomerase, allowing cells to live longer -- true "anti-aging" and the legendary "fountain of youth". Qigong also promotes gene transcription for stress reduction and improvement of immune function. The scientific basis of Qigong is explained in part through the convergence of epigenetics (cellular biology) and psychoneuroimmunology (neuroscience).
Psychoneuroimmunology
Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the relationship between the mind, or psychological processes, and the nervous and immune systems. The meditation component of Qigong is an example of a "psychological process" that affects health and well-being. Thus, it can be considered a "mind-body" practice or "mind-body medicine." Dr. Candace Pert's pioneering work in neuroscience uncovered the primary mechanisms for how mind-body medicine works at the molecular level. A bodywide network of peptides and receptors are the molecular (i.e. biochemical) basis of emotions, wellness, and life itself.
The Molecular Basis of Emotions and Health
"Every cell in our body has a characteristic vibration. When these cells vibrate at a certain rate and in a certain pattern, the body functions well and the person feels good. When they vibrate at a different rate and pattern, the body functions less well and the person feels not so good … every thought is a pattern of energy characterized by a certain vibratory rate and pattern … the vibratory pattern of the thought and its consequent emotion are experienced throughout the entire body, by each cell, and this vibratory influence triggers the release of certain kinds of neuropeptides which flood through the body … thus thoughts are patterns of energy which influence the functions of the whole body." Dr. Candace Pert in Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine
Dr. Candace Pert wrote a popular book on her research called the Molecules of Emotion. The following are excerpts from this book:
The nervous system is a network based on neurotransmitters (chemical proteins which consist of peptides).
A "second" nervous system based on ligands and receptors (vibrating molecules/peptides) coordinates the activities of cells throughout the body. This includes the endocrine, neurological, gastrointestinal, and immune systems. Peptides are created throughout the body. Peptides that affect the brain are called neuropeptides. Brain function is moderated by both neurotransmitters and neuropeptides. A "gut feeling" is related to the density of receptors in the intestines.
Emotions are physically instantiated as neuropeptides and their receptors, both of which can be found throughout the body. Physiology and emotions are inseparable. There's a wonderful section in the movie What the Bleep which depicts this process.
Cells are constantly signaling other cells via neuropeptides, which bind with receptors. The signaled cells respond by making physiologic changes. These changes create a feedback loop to the signaling cell, providing a mechanism to moderate the production of the neuropeptides.
Virtually any peptide found anywhere in the body can be found in the respiratory center. This may provide the substrate for the powerful healing effects of consciously controlled breathing.
Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the functional integration via peptides of the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Neuropeptides and their receptors join the brain, glands, the spleen, bone marrow, and immune system in a multi-directional network of communication between the brain and body. At the molecular level, there is no difference between the mind and the body.
Conscious breathing modulates peptide production and activity which in turn creates the healing effects associated with Qigong breathing practices.
The mind-body connection: not just a theory anymore. Littrell, J. School of Social Work, Georgia State University. Soc Work Health Care. 2008; 46(4): 17-37.
ABSTRACT: Emotion is a general term for subjective feelings of individuals such as happiness, sadness, anger, and so on. Emotion is related fundamentally to preserve species and individuals. For example bad odor alerts animals not to eat while pleasant perfumes act like pheromones to lure the opposite sex. Emotion includes at least three principal components, (1) physiological changes such as autonomic responses, (2) changes expressed in behaviors like facial expressions, and (3) components recognizable and being expressed by words. Most researches in the past handled the above three elements as indexes of emotion. Recently thanks to progress in brain imaging techniques, we have 4th overt element of emotion. Emotion is expressed on regional anatomical brain maps as activation or deactivations of distinct brain areas. P.MacLean explained our brain as a composition of three evolutionally distinct layers, the neocortex, reptilian, and limbic brain (Triune Brain in Emolusion, 1990). He explained the limbic system or intermediate brain between the neocortex and the reptilian brain is responsible for emotion. Activations in these regions create feeling of emotion. The limbic brain is evolutionally created to regulate the autonomic nervous system and primitive (reptilian) brain. In mammals it intervenes or relay signals between the neocortex and primitive brain. Sensory information is processed in the limbic brain and is transmitted to the neocortex with a tag of emotion. The tags help us to select necessary signals to be processed and stored. This session reviews recent progress in brain imaging related to emotion.
The phrase "mind over matter" can be summarized in one word: "autogenic." Autogenic means conscious regulation of body function. In the case of Qigong, the mind is regulating the function of the autonomic nervous system. One Qigong method for self-regulation is progressive relaxation. For more information see Autogenic Training
Epigenetics
Epigenetics (literally, control beyond genetics) is a new field of biology that is exploring the effect of the environment on cellular behavior. The environment, which includes beliefs, perceptions, and the practice of Qigong, directly affects cellular behavior and gene expression. Gene expression is the process by which proteins are manufactured from instructions stored in the DNA. Humans have about the same number of genes as rats, mice, and other mammals (~30000) and roughly 4500 more genes than plants, 10900 more genes than roundworms, and 16400 more genes than fruit flies. There simply aren't enough genes to account for the complexity of human biological processes and behavior. The complexity is made possible by regulatory proteins which direct the activity of the genes. A cell's nucleus contains regulatory proteins and DNA. Environmental signals affect the binding of the regulatory proteins to the DNA within the nucleus as well as the function of the cell through interaction with proteins on the cell membrane. According to epigenetics researchers, the true "brain" of every cell is the cell's membrane which interacts with and responds to environmental signals. Thus, epigenetics gives a mechanism for a bridge between the energetic basis and the biomolecular/chemical physiological basis of our existence. The "energetic basis" is the environmental signals which are different forms of energy, such as light, electromagnetism, sound, heat, vibration, emotions, thought, and the practice of Qigong.
A Short Introduction to Epigenetics
The following video gives a short introduction to epigenetics and explains how what you think directly affects cells. A longer, more complete version of the interview can be found in Bruce Lipton 'The Power of Consciousness'.
"Specific frequencies and patterns of electromagnetic radiation regulate and control gene regulation, cell division, cell differentiation, morphogenesis (the process by which cells assemble into organs and tissues), hormone secretion, nerve growth and function....Though these research studies have been published in some of the most respected mainstream biomedical journals, their revolutionary findings have not been incorporated into the medical school curriculum." Bruce Lipton: Biology of Belief
How the Environment Affects Cellular Function at the Molecular Level -- The Details
In a seven part YouTube series called Biology of Perception Dr. Lipton explains how perception affects cells at the molecular level. The following video is Part 1 of 7 -- or watch the entire video: Bruce Lipton's Latest Training.
"the notion that only physical molecules can impact cell physiology is outmoded. Biological behavior can be controlled by invisible forces, including thought, as well as it can be controlled by physical molecules like penicillin, a fact that provides the scientific underpinning for pharmaceutical-free, energy medicine." Dr. Bruce Lipton.
Bruce Lipton basically "wrote the book" on epigenetics, and it's called Biology of Belief. Here are some of his insights from that book:
The function of the nervous system is to perceive the environment and coordinate the response/behavior of all cells in the body
Environmental influences, including nutrition, stress, and emotions can modify genes without changing their basic blueprint
Chromosomal contents of the nucleus of the cell are made up of an equal combination of DNA and regulatory proteins
Information that controls biology starts with environmental signals that in turn, control the binding of regulatory proteins to the DNA. The regulatory proteins direct the activity of the genes.
The malignancies in 95 percent of breast cancers are derived from environmentally-induced epigenetic alterations and not defective genes.
Humans have about the same number of genes as rodents; only 9000 more genes than fruit-flies; and only 1500 more genes than microscopic worms. How can we be so complex with so few genes?
The nucleus of a cell is simply a memory disk, a hard drive containing the DNA programs that encode the production of proteins - proteins are part of the endocrine system and they control the autonomic nervous system as well as all other bodily functions
Since each atom has its own specific energy signature (wobble or vibration), molecules radiate their own identifying energy patterns. Every material structure in the universe, including individual humans, radiates a unique energy signature.
Specific frequencies of electromagnetic radiation regulate DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, alter protein shape and function and control gene regulation, cell division, cell differentiation, hormone secretion, nerve growth and function.
Protein synthesis, or folding, is where proteins (poly-peptide chains) are instantaneously transformed into their final three-dimensional state. The signaling speed required to make this happen is faster than is possible via a bio-chemical mechanism. In other words, the signaling seems to require electromagnetic (or faster) speeds. Protein folding is being investigated by the National Science Foundation.
Electromagnetic or acoustic vibrations can create a constructive interference or "harmonic resonance" in atoms. The atom absorbs energy and starts to vibrate faster as a result. Kidney stones have been treated by doctors with constructive interference mechanics. Focused energy waves interact with atoms.
Thoughts, the mind's energy, directly influences how the brain controls the body. Thoughts, a form of energy, can activate or inhibit the function of a cell's proteins via constructive or destructive interference.
Our conscious mind experiences the chemical communication signals between cells as emotions.
If positive thinking/emotions is good for you, imagine what negative thinking can do.
Qigong and Gene Expression
"For hundreds of years Western medicine has looked at mind and body as totally separate entities, to the point where saying something 'is all in your head' implied that it was imaginary. Now we've found how changing the activity of the mind can alter the way basic genetic instructions are implemented." Herbert Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute
Mind-body practices that elicit the relaxation response (RR) such as Qigong and Tai Chi have been used worldwide for millennia to reverse the detrimental physiological effects of stress. Practices that trigger the relaxation response (a term pioneered by Dr. Benson), have been reported to be beneficial therapeutically (sometimes as an adjunct to medical treatment) in numerous conditions that are caused or intensified by stress.
Dr. Roger Jahnke has written a review of the Benson study and several others on gene expression that will fundamentally transform science, medicine and society. The implications for corporate wellness, integrative medicine and fitness are huge. Read Dr. Jahnke's Report [PDF].
Genomic counter-stress changes induced by the relaxation response
Dusek JA, Otu HH, Wohlhueter AL, Bhasin M, Zerbini LF, Joseph MG, Benson H, Libermann TA.,
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America, “Genomic counter-stress changes induced by the relaxation response.”, PLoS One. 2008 Jul 2;3(7):e2576.
ABSTRACT: Mind-body practices that elicit the relaxation response (RR) have been used worldwide for millennia to prevent and treat disease. The RR is characterized by decreased oxygen consumption, increased exhaled nitric oxide, and reduced psychological distress. It is believed to be the counterpart of the stress response that exhibits a distinct pattern of physiology and transcriptional profile. We hypothesized that RR elicitation results in characteristic gene expression changes that can be used to measure physiological responses elicited by the RR in an unbiased fashion.
This study provides the first compelling evidence that the RR elicits specific gene expression changes in short-term and long-term practitioners. Our results suggest consistent and constitutive changes in gene expression resulting from RR may relate to long term physiological effects.
Ornish D, et. al.,
Department of Urology, The Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, 2340 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 June 17; 105(24): 8369–8374.
Published online 2008 June 16. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0803080105
Research shows that improved diet, meditation and other non-medical interventions can actually "turn off" the disease-promoting process in men with prostate cancer.
Your Genes are Not Your Destiny
Contrary to popular belief, your genes don’t necessarily determine your destiny. While many genes are static and determine our sex, eye and skin color, others need to be turned on or off to express a genetic trait. The on or off switch lies on top of the genome or genetic material and is the basis of the study of “epigenetics” (More).
Epigenetics on PBS' NOVA
This video is from the Public Broadcasting System NOVA program. It is yet another explanation of epigenetics and the effects of the environment on gene expression. Genetically identical twins and mice have differentially expressed genes. The epigenome silences different genes to make cells different from one another. The epigenome regulates the genes.
. The following are excerpts from this book: 
