Dr. David Spiegel

Incredible.

And then we got them to relax and think of anything but food or drink.

And we got like a 40% decrease in gastric acid secretion.

And that was DLPFC through the insula telling the stomach you're getting food or you're not getting food.

And even we injected them with pentagastrin, which triggers gastric acid release.

And even then in the hypnosis condition, they had a 19% reduction in gastric acid.

So the brain has this amazing ability to control what's going on in the body in ways that we don't think we have ability to control.

That's just one example.

So that's the DLPFC insulate connection.

The third thing that happens is you have inverse functional connectivity between the DLPFC and the posterior cingulate cortex.

The posterior cingulate is part of the default mode network.

It's in the back of the brain.

And it's an area whose activity goes down, for example, in meditators.

And in meditation, you're supposed to be selfless.

The self is an illusion.

You're supposed to let it dissolve and just experience things.

And when you're doing that, the posterior single is decreasing in activity.

The inverse connection is I'm doing something, but I'm not thinking about what it means for me.

I may not even remember much of it.

If I do, I don't care that much about it.