Back in psychology class, we discussed a case of woman who had suffered from hiccups for a couple of years. She made television appearances and became something of a minor celebrity. Some company offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who could help her stop. A psychologist took them up on the offer. 15 minutes after appearing on stage, the woman's hiccups had stopped. However, she then went into therapy to discover the underlying reasons for malady. How did the psychologist affect the a cure so rapidly? Aversive counter-conditioning. You might be familiar with the process, if not the term, especially if you've watched A Clockwork Orange. Electrodes were attached to the woman's hand and every time she hiccupped, she received a small electrical shock, which was large enough to be painful. Anyway, it looks like a politician has been hospitalized with hiccups for a few weeks.

Update: Harvey correctly pointed out that I had failed to mention the reason for the original post. Link to story now included. I must need more caffeine.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:14 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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