MIND, BODY, AND PAIN - ARE THERE ANY BORDERS

While pain is a subjective experience, it has neurophysiological, cogn itive, and emotional substrates in variable combinations. The mind (se at of consciousness, thought, volition, and feeling) can exert a power ful influence over both our experiences and our bodily functions. The author explores the mysteries of modification of pain and bodily funct ion through rituals and ceremonies, and reviews current status of scie ntific knowledge concerning the nature and influence of altered states of consciousness on pain perception and the influences of the placebo effect in Western medicine. The author concludes that the borders of mind and body are inextricably intertwined and that if properly used, the placebo effect can be therapeutic.