BehindTheMedspeak: 'Quantum Zeno Effect'

It's named after the Greek philosopher Zeno, and was introduced into science by a group of physicists in 1977.

It means that a simple act of observation freezes a quantum system - brain activity, for instance - and suppresses certain transitions to other states, including gene expression.

Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, a research professor at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute, has been successfully treating people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with a non-drug-based therapy employing such measures.

Says Schwartz, "Quantum physics asserts that all causation does not lie in matter. Physics doesn't integrate this with the brain, but we're bringing a new form of causation to science. It's a major paradigm shift of Copernican magnitude."

Schwartz's work has shown that positive thinking can permanently alter neural pathways.

"A change in perspective is a uniquely human capacity, and the regular paying of attention determines not only how the brain works but also how genes express themselves," he says.

His website offers more information about his approach to OCD, and much else.

It's worth a visit even if you don't make a list and check it twice, and then a third time, and a fourth, and one more time, and....