Qigong & science
Latest research.
Neuroscience, quantum physics, biophysics — Qigong research.
With the development of neuroscience, psychology, biophysics and quantum physics, attempts have begun to describe the effects of Qigong in the language of science as well. What follows is an exploratory line of research: biofield hypotheses are not part of established medicine and have not been confirmed by controlled clinical trials. We report it because it is how the practice is currently being studied, not as evidence of its effectiveness. According to this hypothesis, biofield interactions organize biological processes from the subatomic, molecular and cellular levels to the interpersonal and cosmic ones.
The biofield
Qigong may bring about the regulation of cellular, biochemical and neurological processes through ways related to electromagnetism, quantum fields or other means of modulating biological activity and information flow. These interactions are thought to operate in part via low-energy or "subtle" processes, such as weak nonthermal electromagnetic fields and processes potentially related to consciousness.
How it is measured: gas discharge visualization
Modern science has many ways to observe the human electric field, such as electroencephalography and electrocardiography; the study of Qigong, however, requires more advanced equipment. Gas discharge visualization (GDV), for example, uses a high-frequency, high-voltage field to stimulate a weak photon emission, which is then turned into images through optics, electronics and computer processing. GDV techniques are currently used diagnostically, correlating the characteristics of the images with acupuncture systems or other means of assessing the biological state.
Early results
One study — whose full reference we do not give here — described changes in the GDV scans of cancer patients compared with healthy participants, and a change trending toward healthy GDV profiles after six weeks of treatment. These are preliminary data, on small numbers and without independent replication: they suggest a direction for research, not an established result.
