1
|
Salgues S, Plancher G, Michael GA. Visuospatial working memory abilities and spontaneous sensations perception. Somatosens Mot Res 2021; 38:164-177. [PMID: 34180338 DOI: 10.1080/08990220.2021.1914018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Aim: Body awareness arises when attending to and maintaining awareness of visuospatial body representations. By the same token, focussing on representations transfers them to working memory. Body awareness and working memory seemingly rely on similar processes and recruit common parietal areas involved in perception. Therefore, we asked whether visuospatial working memory abilities would define individual differences in the perception of spontaneous sensations (SPS), i.e., bodily sensations perceived in the absence of triggers (e.g., tactile stimulation or movement), when attending to the body.Method: Participants completed two visuospatial working memory tasks to assess various mechanisms: (i) the decay of representations was assessed through a Brown-Peterson task in which the delay between the memorandum presentation and its recall was manipulated, and (ii) the impact of distractors' interference and cognitive load (i.e., complexity) on recall performances were assessed through a complex span task that required the processing of distractors while maintaining a memorandum. A standard SPS task involving localization and characterization of SPS perceived on the hands was completed afterwards.Results: Low performance due to decay, distractors' interference and cognitive load in visuospatial working memory was associated with a decrease in the frequency of SPS. Additionally, low performance due to distractors' cognitive load predicted a decrease in the perception of surface-type sensations, and high performance despite distractors' interference led to a better perception of SPS on less sensitive areas of the hand.Conclusion: We discuss how visuospatial working memory processes might contribute to body awareness and perceptual distortions of the body.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Salgues
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.,Département de Sciences Cognitives, Psychologie Cognitive et Neuropsychologie, Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA 3082), Institut de Psychologie, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Gaën Plancher
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.,Département de Sciences Cognitives, Psychologie Cognitive et Neuropsychologie, Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA 3082), Institut de Psychologie, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - George A Michael
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.,Département de Sciences Cognitives, Psychologie Cognitive et Neuropsychologie, Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA 3082), Institut de Psychologie, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Michael GA, Guyot D, Tarroux E, Comte M, Salgues S. Feeling Oneself Requires Embodiment: Insights From the Relationship Between Own-Body Transformations, Schizotypal Personality Traits, and Spontaneous Bodily Sensations. Front Psychol 2021; 11:578237. [PMID: 33424690 PMCID: PMC7786119 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.578237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Subtle bodily sensations such as itching or fluttering that occur in the absence of any external trigger (i.e., spontaneous sensations, or SPS) may serve to locate the spatial boundaries of the body. They may constitute the normal counterpart of extreme conditions in which body-related hallucinations and perceptual aberrations are experienced. Previous investigations have suggested that situations in which the body is spontaneously experienced as being deformed are related to the ability to perform own-body transformations, i.e., mental rotations of the body requiring disembodiment. We therefore decided to consider whether the perception of SPS might relate to embodiment as assessed through (i) the ability to perform own-body transformations (OBT task) and (ii) schizotypal traits (Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, or SPQ), since high degrees of schizotypy in the general population have been associated with more vivid perceptions and aberrant perceptual experiences. Then participants completed a standard SPS task. Our analysis revealed that the slower the response time in the OBT task, the more frequent the perception of SPS. This suggests that difficulties in disembodying and mentally transforming one's own body facilitate feeling oneself. Furthermore, a greater number of correct responses in the OBT task was associated with less frequent perception of SPS. This suggests that finding it easier to disembody and perform mental own-body transformations interferes with the ability to sense oneself. The results also show that higher schizotypal traits, as assessed through the SPQ, are associated with more frequent perception of SPS. Taken together, these results provide a coherent picture and suggest that embodiment is required in order to correctly feel oneself, as expressed through the perception of SPS. The ability to easily experience disembodiment reduces the sense of feeling oneself, and proneness to schizotypal traits produces body misperceptions that enhance and amplify this feeling. The results are discussed in the light of current knowledge and theories about body representations, taking into account attention and interoception as factors that influence body awareness. We offer explanations for perceptual aberrations, body-related delusions, and hallucinations based on misperceived or misinterpreted SPS, and we discuss possible mechanisms that may contribute to feeling and misperceiving oneself.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- George A Michael
- University of Lyon, Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Laboratoire EMC (Cognitive Mechanisms Research Laboratory) (EA 3082), Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Institute of Psychology, Lyon, France
| | - Deborah Guyot
- University of Lyon, Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Laboratoire EMC (Cognitive Mechanisms Research Laboratory) (EA 3082), Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Institute of Psychology, Lyon, France
| | - Emilie Tarroux
- University of Lyon, Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Laboratoire EMC (Cognitive Mechanisms Research Laboratory) (EA 3082), Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Institute of Psychology, Lyon, France
| | - Mylène Comte
- University of Lyon, Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Laboratoire EMC (Cognitive Mechanisms Research Laboratory) (EA 3082), Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Institute of Psychology, Lyon, France
| | - Sara Salgues
- University of Lyon, Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Laboratoire EMC (Cognitive Mechanisms Research Laboratory) (EA 3082), Lyon, France.,University Lyon 2, Institute of Psychology, Lyon, France
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kamp KS, Steffen EM, Alderson-Day B, Allen P, Austad A, Hayes J, Larøi F, Ratcliffe M, Sabucedo P. Sensory and Quasi-Sensory Experiences of the Deceased in Bereavement: An Interdisciplinary and Integrative Review. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:1367-1381. [PMID: 33099644 PMCID: PMC7707065 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Bereaved people often report having sensory and quasi-sensory experiences of the deceased (SED), and there is an ongoing debate over whether SED are associated with pathology, such as grief complications. Research into these experiences has been conducted in various disciplines, including psychiatry, psychology, and anthropology, without much crossover. This review brings these areas of research together, drawing on the expertise of an interdisciplinary working group formed as part of the International Consortium for Hallucination Research (ICHR). It examines existing evidence on the phenomenology, associated factors, and impact of SED, including the role of culture, and discusses the main theories on SED and how these phenomena compare with unusual experiences in other contexts. The review concludes that the vast majority of these experiences are benign and that they should be considered in light of their biographical, relational, and sociocultural contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karina Stengaard Kamp
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychology and Behavioural Science, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 11, Aarhus C, DK, 8000, Denmark; tel: 0045-30-11-75-59, e-mail:
| | | | | | - Paul Allen
- Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Anne Austad
- Faculty of Theology, Diaconia and Leadership Studies, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Frank Larøi
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway,Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium,Norwegian Centre of Excellence for Mental Disorders Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Pablo Sabucedo
- Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Dagnall N, Drinkwater KG, O’Keeffe C, Ventola A, Laythe B, Jawer MA, Massullo B, Caputo GB, Houran J. Things That Go Bump in the Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of "Haunted Houses". Front Psychol 2020; 11:1328. [PMID: 32595577 PMCID: PMC7304295 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper contains a narrative overview of the past 20-years of environmental research on anomalous experiences attributed to "haunted house." This exercise served as a much-needed update to an anthology of noteworthy overviews on ghosts, haunts, and poltergeists (Houran and Lange, 2001b). We also considered whether new studies had incorporated certain recommendations made in this anthology. Our search revealed a relative paucity of studies (n = 66) on environmental factors that ostensibly stimulate haunt-type experiences. This literature was diverse and often lacked methodological consistency and adherence to the prior suggestions. However, critical consideration of the content revealed a recurring focus on six ambient variables: embedded (static) cues, lighting levels, air quality, temperature, infrasound, and electromagnetic fields. Their relation to the onset or structure of witness reports showed mostly null, though sometimes inconsistent or weak outcomes. However, such research as related to haunts is arguably in its infancy and new designs are needed to account better for environmental and architectural phenomenology. Future studies should therefore address four areas: (i) more consistent and precise measurements of discrete ambient variables; (ii) the potential role of "Gestalt influences" that involve holistic environment-person interactions; (iii) individual differences in attentional or perceptual sensitivities of percipients to environmental variables; and (iv) the role of attitudinal and normative influences in the interpretation of environmental stimuli. Focused scrutiny on these issues should clarify the explanatory power of evolutionary-environmental models for these and related anomalous experiences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neil Dagnall
- Department of Psychology, Manchester Campus, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Kenneth G. Drinkwater
- Department of Psychology, Manchester Campus, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Ciarán O’Keeffe
- School of Human & Social Sciences, Buckinghamshire New University, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
| | | | - Brian Laythe
- Institute for the Study of Religious and Anomalous Experience, Jeffersonville, IN, United States
| | | | | | | | - James Houran
- Laboratory for Statistics and Computation, ISLA—Instituto Politécnico de Gestão e Tecnologia, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
- Integrated Knowledge Systems, Dallas, TX, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Werneke U. Conference proceedings of the 4th Masterclass Psychiatry: Transcultural Psychiatry - Diagnostics and Treatment, Luleå, Sweden, 22-23 February 2018 (Region Norrbotten in collaboration with the Maudsley Hospital and Tavistock Clinic London). Nord J Psychiatry 2018:1-33. [PMID: 30547691 DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2018.1481525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND According to estimates from the European Commission, Europe has experienced the greatest mass movement of people since the Second World War. More than one million refugees and migrants have arrived in the European Union in the past few years. Mental health and primary care professionals are more likely than ever to meet patients from different cultures and backgrounds. AIMS To equip mental health and primary care professionals with transcultural skills to deal with patients from unfamiliar backgrounds. METHOD Lectures and case discussions to explore the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of serious mental health problems in a transcultural context. RESULTS Lectures covered transcultural aspects of mental health problems, treatment in different cultural and ethnic contexts, and assessment of risk factors for self-harm and harm in migrant populations. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians require a sound grounding in transcultural skills to confidently and empathically deal with patients from unfamiliar backgrounds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ursula Werneke
- a Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Psychiatry, Sunderby Research Unit , Umeå University , Umeå , Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
BACKGROUND Religion and psychiatry may be both considered to be two different ways of explaining the unknown, of responding to questions about the meaning of life, and of bringing healing. AIMS To discuss the border between religion and psychiatry. METHOD This lecture explores the interface between religion and psychiatry and discusses the border between soul and mind. RESULTS Religious beliefs may affect behaviours and may been seen on a psychopathological continuum with overvalued ideas and delusions. There is an overlap between psychiatric and religious categories, in possession states described in research literature and by many cultural groups. Several studies suggest possible factors for differentiating schizophrenia from demonic influence and report on the efficacy of exorcism among possessed/psychotic subjects. Diagnostic criteria have been proposed for dissociative trance disorder or possession disorder. CONCLUSIONS Both mental health professionals and religious believers may require criteria to distinguish adaptive and maladaptive expressions of religious experience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Ventriglio
- a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy
| | - Iris Bonfitto
- a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy
| | - Fabiana Ricci
- a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy
| | - Federica Cuoco
- a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy
| | - Vishal Bhavsar
- b Department of Psychosis Studies , King's College , London , UK
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Freedman M, Binns M, Gao F, Holmes M, Roseborough A, Strother S, Vallesi A, Jeffers S, Alain C, Whitehouse P, Ryan JD, Chen R, Cusimano MD, Black SE. Mind-Matter Interactions and the Frontal Lobes of the Brain: A Novel Neurobiological Model of Psi Inhibition. Explore (NY) 2017; 14:76-85. [PMID: 29169779 DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2017.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT Despite a large literature on psi, which encompasses a range of experiences including putative telepathy (mind-mind connections), clairvoyance (perceiving distant objects or events), precognition (perceiving future events), and mind-matter interactions, there has been insufficient focus on the brain in relation to this controversial phenomenon. In contrast, our research is based on a novel neurobiological model suggesting that frontal brain systems act as a filter to inhibit psi and that the inhibitory mechanisms may relate to self-awareness. OBJECTIVE To identify frontal brain regions that may inhibit psi. DESIGN We used mind-matter interactions to study psi in two participants with frontal lobe damage. The experimental task was to influence numerical output of a Random Event Generator translated into movement of an arrow on a computer screen to the right or left. Brain MRI was analyzed to determine frontal volume loss. RESULTS The primary area of lesion overlap between the participants was in the left medial middle frontal region, an area related to self-awareness, and involved Brodmann areas 9, 10, and 32. Both participants showed a significant effect in moving the arrow to the right, i.e., contralateral to the side of primary lesion overlap. Effect sizes were much larger compared to normal participants. CONCLUSIONS The medial frontal lobes may act as a biological filter to inhibit psi through mechanisms related to self-awareness. Neurobiological studies with a focus on the brain may open new avenues of research on psi and may significantly advance the state of this poorly understood field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Morris Freedman
- Department of Medicine (Neurology) and Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medicine (Neurology), Mt. Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada.
| | - Malcolm Binns
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Fuqiang Gao
- LC Campbell Cognitive Neurology Research Unit and Hurvitz Brain Science Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Melissa Holmes
- LC Campbell Cognitive Neurology Research Unit and Hurvitz Brain Science Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Austyn Roseborough
- LC Campbell Cognitive Neurology Research Unit and Hurvitz Brain Science Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
| | - Stephen Strother
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Antonino Vallesi
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 5, 35128 Padova, Italy; Fondazione Ospedale San Camillo, IRCCS, Lido-Venice, Italy
| | - Stanley Jeffers
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Claude Alain
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Peter Whitehouse
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, 2895 Carlton Road, Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122; Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jennifer D Ryan
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Robert Chen
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network and Toronto Western Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2S8, Canada
| | - Michael D Cusimano
- Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; St. Michael's Hospital, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada
| | - Sandra E Black
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada; LC Campbell Cognitive Neurology Research Unit and Hurvitz Brain Science Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada; Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Milne E, Dickinson A, Smith R. Adults with autism spectrum conditions experience increased levels of anomalous perception. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0177804. [PMID: 28542171 PMCID: PMC5436824 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum condition (ASC) is characterised by differences in social interaction and behavioural inflexibility. In addition to these core symptoms, atypical sensory responses are prevalent in the ASC phenotype. Here we investigated anomalous perception, i.e. hallucinatory and/or out of body experiences in adults with ASC. Thirty participants with an ASC diagnosis and thirty neurotypical controls completed the Cardiff Anomalous Perception Scale (CAPS) and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2). The CAPS is a 32-item questionnaire that asks participants to indicate whether or not they experience a range of anomalous and out of body experiences, and to rate how intrusive and distressing these experiences are. The SRS-2 asks participants to rate the extent to which they identify with a series of 65 statements that describe behaviours associated with the autism phenotype. We found that total CAPS score was significantly higher in the participants with ASC (mean = 14.8, S.D. = 7.9) than the participants without ASC (mean = 3.6, S.D. = 4.1). In addition, the frequency of anomalous perception, the level of distraction and the level of distress associated with the experience were significantly increased in participants with ASC. Importantly, both the frequency of anomalous perceptual experiences and the level of distress caused by anomalous perception in this sample of adults with ASC were very similar to that reported previously in a sample of non-autistic participants who were being treated in hospital for a current psychotic episode. These data indicate that anomalous perceptual experiences are common in adults with ASC and are associated with a high level of distress. The origins of anomalous perception in ASC and the implication of this phenomenon are considered.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Milne
- Sheffield Autism Research Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Abigail Dickinson
- Sheffield Autism Research Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Smith
- Sheffield Adult Autism and Neurodevelopmental Service, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Trust, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Helminiak DA. The Spiritualization of Secular Society: The Challenge of Peace in a World of Diversity. JOURNAL OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/0022167816641852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Peace on earth is not to be expected. First, at least in its subhuman form, the law of nature is survival of the fittest, not self-deferential cooperation. Second, a philosophical consensus to provide needed epistemological agreement and ethical criteria for peace is nonexistent in the postmodern world. Third, conflicting beliefs among the world’s religions and a sharp decline in religious affiliation incapacitate the traditional agencies of support for transcendent values, including peace. Thus, the daunting challenge has become the nonreligious and even nontheological spiritualization of secular society. Only this hope remains as history forces humanity to mature: Elaborate and rely on a humanistic basis for lofty values. In evocative terms, philosophers and humanistic psychologists have narrated that hope. More incisively, Bernard Lonergan has detailed the humanistic basis of that hope: distinctively human consciousness or spirit, the self-transcending dimension of the human mind, a bimodal, quadrilevel, epistemologically and ethically normative dynamism. But no agency exists to implement this hope, and peace still, depends ultimately on elusive human goodwill. Still the empirical specification of a philosophical foundation at least provides needed guidance, which, coupled with today’s scientific, medical, psychological, and sociological technology, does sustain hope for peace.
Collapse
|
10
|
Cristofori I, Bulbulia J, Shaver JH, Wilson M, Krueger F, Grafman J. Neural correlates of mystical experience. Neuropsychologia 2016; 80:212-220. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Revised: 11/16/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
11
|
Rabeyron T, Loose T. Anomalous Experiences, Trauma, and Symbolization Processes at the Frontiers between Psychoanalysis and Cognitive Neurosciences. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1926. [PMID: 26732646 PMCID: PMC4685320 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Anomalous or exceptional experiences are uncommon experiences which are usually interpreted as being paranormal by those who report them. These experiences have long remained difficult to explain, but current progress in cognitive neuroscience and psychoanalysis sheds light on the contexts in which they emerge, as well as on their underlying processes. Following a brief description of the different types of anomalous experiences, we underline how they can be better understood at the frontiers between psychoanalysis and cognitive neurosciences. In this regard, three main lines of research are discussed and illustrated, alongside clinical cases which come from a clinical service specializing in anomalous experiences. First, we study the links between anomalous experiences and hallucinatory processes, by showing that anomalous experiences frequently occur as a specific reaction to negative life events, in which case they mainly take the form of non-pathological hallucinations. Next, we propose to analyze these experiences from the perspective of their traumatic aspects and the altered states of consciousness they often imply. Finally, these experiences are considered to be the consequence of a hypersensitivity that can be linked to an increase in psychic permeability. In conclusion, these different processes lead us to consider anomalous experiences as primary forms of symbolization and transformation of the subjective experience, especially during, or after traumatic situations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Rabeyron
- Department of Psychology, University of NantesNantes, France
- Department of Psychology, University of EdinburghEdinburgh, UK
| | - Tianna Loose
- Department of Psychology, University of EdinburghEdinburgh, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Québec in MontrealMontreal, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Stimulating the aberrant brain: Evidence for increased cortical hyperexcitability from a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) study of individuals predisposed to anomalous perceptions. Cortex 2015; 69:1-13. [PMID: 25967083 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Revised: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Findings from neurological and clinical groups have shown that increased predisposition to anomalous experience/aura reflects an elevation in aberrant neural processes in the brain. However, studies of anomalous experiences in non-clinical/non-neurological groups are less clear on this matter and are more typically confined to subjective questionnaire measures alone. The current investigation, the first to our knowledge, carried out a transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) study of cortical hyperexcitability, and its association with anomalous experience in non-clinical/non-neurological groups. Sixty participants completed; (i) both excitatory (anodal) and inhibitory (cathodal) brain stimulation conditions of the visual cortex; (ii) a computerised pattern-glare task, where observers reported phantom visual distortions from viewing highly irritable visual patterns (a metric of cortical hyperexcitability), and; (iii) questionnaire measures of predisposition to anomalous perceptions. There were no reliable signs of cortical hyperexcitability (via pattern-glare tasks) when collapsed across the whole sample. However, a significant positive correlation between predisposition to anomalous experience and elevated signs of cortical hyperexcitability was observed. Crucially, there was a significant negative correlation between tDCS stimulatory conditions. A visual cortex that reacted more strongly to excitatory stimulation, responded less well to inhibitory suppression, and this pattern was related to predisposition to anomalous perceptions. Both findings are consistent with the presence of a hyperexcitable cortex. Collectively the present findings provide objective evidence that the brains of individuals predisposed to anomalous experiences/hallucinations can be hyperexcitable - even in the non-clinical/non-neurological population. These data are consistent with continuum models of anomalous experience and have important implications for contemporary theories of aberrations in self-consciousness.
Collapse
|
13
|
Shukla S, Acharya S, Rajput D. Neurotheology-Matters of the Mind or Matters that Mind? J Clin Diagn Res 2013; 7:1486-90. [PMID: 23998103 DOI: 10.7860/jcdr/2013/5409.3181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2012] [Accepted: 03/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the true nature of an individual, be it a child or an adult, a male or a female, is almost an impossible task. The vast abyss like behaviour of a human mind is virtually unfathomable. Yet, with the advent of neurosciences, it can be said that we, as the medical fraternity, have been in a position to decipher a considerable part of the human mind. This review accepts the fact that religion and theology have extreme reverence and respect. Yet, when it comes to extraordinary beliefs, phenomena, unimaginable feats and emotional deviations of the human mind, especially those which involve deep faiths and beliefs, comprehensive neuroscientific explanations from the emerging data, with the aid of elaborate neuroimaging, have proved to be extremely rational and logical. This review did make an attempt to untangle some facets of spirituality and to make rational explanations of the same. It was an attempt to understand the function of the mind (as an abstract) and the brain, on the spiritual experiences and sudden enlightments, the experience of togetherness with the universe, and to understand the phenomena of trance and an altered state of consciousness, which is better referred as the emerging science of neurotheology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samarth Shukla
- Professor, Department of Pathology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College , Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, Maharashtra, India
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Potential production of Hughlings Jackson's "parasitic consciousness" by physiologically-patterned weak transcerebral magnetic fields: QEEG and source localization. Epilepsy Behav 2013; 28:395-407. [PMID: 23872082 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2013] [Revised: 05/07/2013] [Accepted: 05/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Exotic experiences such as the sensing of another consciousness or the detachment of consciousness from the body are occasionally reported by individuals with partial seizures from a temporal lobe focus. The experiences display the characteristics of Hughlings Jackson's "parasitic consciousness". We have hypothesized that these experiences are encouraged by slight discrepancies in hemispheric activity that can be simulated by application of weak, physiologically-patterned magnetic fields across the cerebral hemispheres. Electroencephalographic and Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA) data revealed altered activity bands within specific regions within the cerebral cortices during these experiences. The clear changes in power of brain activity were discerned after consistent durations of exposure to specifically patterned weak magnetic fields. Millisecond range point durations were required. The technology may be useful to explore the subjective components associated with complex partial seizures.
Collapse
|
15
|
Swiney L, Sousa P. When our thoughts are not our own: Investigating agency misattributions using the Mind-to-Mind paradigm. Conscious Cogn 2013; 22:589-602. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2012] [Revised: 03/21/2013] [Accepted: 03/23/2013] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
|
16
|
Braithwaite JJ, Broglia E, Bagshaw AP, Wilkins AJ. Evidence for elevated cortical hyperexcitability and its association with out-of-body experiences in the non-clinical population: New findings from a pattern-glare task. Cortex 2013; 49:793-805. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2011] [Revised: 09/22/2011] [Accepted: 11/10/2011] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
17
|
Affiliation(s)
- Paul Bloom
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520;
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Castillo M. The sixth dimension and God's helmet. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2011; 32:1767-8. [PMID: 21393401 DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.a2433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
19
|
Cognitive correlates of the spontaneous out-of-body experience (OBE) in the psychologically normal population: Evidence for an increased role of temporal-lobe instability, body-distortion processing, and impairments in own-body transformations. Cortex 2011; 47:839-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2009] [Revised: 02/19/2010] [Accepted: 05/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
20
|
Booth JN, Koren SA, Persinger MA. INCREASED FEELINGS OF THE SENSED PRESENCE AND INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY AT THE TIME OF THE EXPERIENCE DURING EXPOSURES TO TRANSCEREBRAL WEAK COMPLEX MAGNETIC FIELDS. Int J Neurosci 2009; 115:1053-79. [PMID: 16051550 DOI: 10.1080/00207450590901521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In 2 separate experiments involving 39 subjects the incidence of sensing a presence or Sentient Being while being exposed to weak complex magnetic fields over the right hemisphere was moderately correlated with increased global geomagnetic activity during the 3-h periods of the experiences. Analyses of magnetometer values near the laboratory indicated the intensity of the east-west component of the geomagnetic field had been increasing consistently at about 1 pT/s for at least 10 min for a cumulative change of about 15 to 20 nT. The ratios of the durations of alpha rhythms over the temporal lobes compared to the occipital lobes were correlated significantly with both increased geomagnetic activity and the reports of a presence. Removal of the shared variance between the sensed presence and various psychometric inferences of temporal lobe sensitivity and the history of dissociation increased and decreased, respectively, the strength of the partial correlations between geomagnetic activity and the reports of a sensed presence. The results suggest the culturally and historically ubiquitous phenomena of sensed presences are generated by right hemispheric processes that once enhanced by a variety of stimuli, including weak complex magnetic fields, can be encouraged by increased global geomagnetic activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J N Booth
- Behavioral Neursocience Laboratory, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Schjoedt U, Stødkilde-Jørgensen H, Geertz AW, Roepstorff A. Highly religious participants recruit areas of social cognition in personal prayer. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2009; 4:199-207. [PMID: 19246473 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsn050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how performing formalized and improvised forms of praying changed the evoked BOLD response in a group of Danish Christians. Distinct from formalized praying and secular controls, improvised praying activated a strong response in the temporopolar region, the medial prefrontal cortex, the temporo-parietal junction and precuneus. This finding supports our hypothesis that religious subjects, who consider their God to be 'real' and capable of reciprocating requests, recruit areas of social cognition when they pray. We argue that praying to God is an intersubjective experience comparable to 'normal' interpersonal interaction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Uffe Schjoedt
- Department of Study of Religion, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
22
|
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This paper aims to explore the interface between religion and psychosis, and to comment on its relevance in clinical practice. METHOD The context of religious psychotic phenomena is briefly discussed, leading to an examination of the biological substrates of religious experiences, the hypothesized process of religious psychotic symptom formation, and the clinical implications when assessing religious delusions. A PubMED search was conducted to identify original research and review articles of relevance to the discussion. RESULTS Religion is an enduring theme in psychosis, the understanding of which can be assisted by distinguishing between religion as a culture and religiosity as pathology. There are strong arguments for the involvement of temporolimbic instability in the generation of religious psychotic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Psychosis can be conceptualized as the manifestation of aberrant perceptual and/or integrative processes. The prevalence of religion as a psychotic theme may be explained by its central cultural role, the implication of temporolimbic overactivity in the pathogenesis of some cases of psychosis, and the tendency to interpret intense or discrepant perceptual events as spiritual. In the clinical setting, the determination of religious delusions can be challenging at times. In addition to seeking advice on unfamiliar religions, a thorough assessment of the dimensions of religious beliefs and symptoms of neurocognitive dysfunction can be useful.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Felicity Ng
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Barwon Health, University of Melbourne, Geelong, Vic, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Bösch H, Steinkamp F, Boller E. Examining psychokinesis: The interaction of human intention with random number generators--A meta-analysis. Psychol Bull 2006; 132:497-523. [PMID: 16822162 DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.132.4.497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Séance-room and other large-scale psychokinetic phenomena have fascinated humankind for decades. Experimental research has reduced these phenomena to attempts to influence (a) the fall of dice and, later, (b) the output of random number generators (RNGs). The meta-analysis combined 380 studies that assessed whether RNG output correlated with human intention and found a significant but very small overall effect size. The study effect sizes were strongly and inversely related to sample size and were extremely heterogeneous. A Monte Carlo simulation revealed that the small effect size, the relation between sample size and effect size, and the extreme effect size heterogeneity found could in principle be a result of publication bias.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Holger Bösch
- Department of Evaluation Research in Complementary Medicine, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Persinger MA, Roll WG, Tiller SG, Koren SA, Cook CM. Remote viewing with the artist Ingo Swann: neuropsychological profile, electroencephalographic correlates, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and possible mechanisms. Percept Mot Skills 2002; 94:927-49. [PMID: 12081299 DOI: 10.2466/pms.2002.94.3.927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, the artist Ingo Swann, who helped develop the process of remote viewing (awareness of distant objects or places without employing normal senses), was exposed during a single setting of 30 min. to specific patterns of circumcerebral magnetic fields that significantly altered his subjective experiences. Several times during subsequent days, he was asked to sit in a quiet chamber and to sketch and to describe verbally distant stimuli (pictures or places) beyond his normal senses. The proportions of unusual 7-Hz spike and slow wave activity over the occipital lobes per trial were moderately correlated (rho=.50) with the ratings of accuracy between these distal, hidden stimuli and his responses. A neuropsychological assessment and Magnetic Resonance Imaging indicated a different structural and functional organization within the parieto-occipital region of the subject's right hemisphere from organizations typically noted. The results suggest that this type of paranormal phenomenon, often dismissed as methodological artifact or accepted as proofs of spiritual existence, is correlated with neurophysiological processes and physical events. Remote viewing may be enhanced by complex experimentally generated magnetic fields designed to interact with the neuromagnetic "binding factor" of consciousness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M A Persinger
- Department of Psychology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
25
|
PERSINGE MA. REMOTE VIEWING WITH THE ARTIST INGO SWANN: NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE, ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC CORRELATES, MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI), AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS. Percept Mot Skills 2002. [DOI: 10.2466/pms.94.2.927-949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
|