Doctors in America have recently discovered how to teach mental control of an amazing range of bodily functions.
Large sections of our bodies go on working without our having to think about them. They have to, or we'd spend all our thinking time keeping our hearts beating steadily, and keeping our muscles at the right tension to stop us collapsing in a heap or seizing up.
But there are times when we'd find it very useful to take over voluntary control but can't, to correct such ailments as high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and other malfunctions of our involuntary systems. Such control may be a normal part of future medical treatment if the experiments are successful.
Tonight's programme includes new techniques for pain control, suppression of epileptic seizures, prevention of migraine headaches, removal of intense phobias, and, shows how most illnesses have a large psychological component.
(What's happening to make you ill?: page 11)