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novapsycheRhine Research Center at Duke University
SUBJECTIVE PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES IN TEMPORAL LOBE DYSFUNCTION IN A NEUROPSYCHIATRIC POPULATION: ANALYSES OF REFINED PREDICTORS
John Palmer, Vernon Neppe, H. Nebel and S. Magill
Proceedings of Presented Papers: The Parapsychological Association 45rd Annual Convention, 2002, 140-155
Subjective paranormal experiences in temporal lobe dysfunction in a neuropsychiatric population: Exploratory analyses. Paper to be submitted to the 2002 Parapsychological Association Convention. In a previous paper, the authors reported that patients classified as having temporal lobe dysfunction (TLD) on the basis of responses to a symptom questionnaire (INSET), EEG abnormalities, predisposing conditions for TLD, and response to anti-convulsant (A-C) drugs reported more subjective paranormal experiences (SPEs) than did patients not so classified, but the results were entirely attributable to INSET as the predictor. Females were significantly more likely than males to be classified as TLD and to report multiple SPEs. The present paper reports exploratory logistic regression analyses conducted to uncover relationships between specific predictor variables and patient claims of subjective ESP experiences (S-ESP) on INSET. Eliminating those who claimed S-ESP only rarely left an S-ESP group (N=53) to be compared with a No-S-ESP, or control, group (N=40). Independent variables included gender, age, the 16 INSET items, EEG measures reflecting the location and type of anomalous activity, measures of handedness and brain laterality, specific recreational drugs, and head injury. The significant variables ( p < .10, two-tailed) in the final model were gender, laterality, and (from INSET) the jamais vu item and the combined visual and auditory hallucinations items, the ESP group being characterized by right-lateralized females who scored high on the selected INSET items. A significant interaction was found between gender and a measure of EEG anomalies that occurred in the temporal lobes and sometimes extending to adjacent areas, but not generalized over the whole scalp. These anomalies were positively related to ESP in females and negatively in males. More refined analyses indicated that the effect for females was contributed entirely by activity other than slowing in the left hemisphere, sometimes extending bilaterally to the right temporal, or the frontal lobes. Significant (p < .10) predictors of S-ESP in a regression model for females were the revised temporal EEG measure, laterality, and visual/auditory hallucinations. The number of males in the sample (N = 27) was considered too small for a meaningful regression analysis. As far as the brain is concerned, S-ESP appeared to be most prevalent among right-lateralized females with relatively high-frequency EEG anomalies in their dominant (left) hemisphere. These exploratory findings need to be cross-validated with a new sample before the results can be considered conclusive. Palmer also interviewed 20 patients from the ESP group to get a sense of the credibility of the S-ESP experiences they claimed, and whether they could detect any effect of A-C drugs on the frequency of these experiences. He found that 13 of the 20 had credible experiences, 4 had marginally credible experiences, and 3 had non-credible experiences (2 of these 3 later told Neppe they had under-reported their ESP experiences to Palmer.) 8 of the 14 patients taking A-C drugs claimed these suppressed the frequency of S-ESP, 2 claimed enhanced frequency, and 4 claimed no difference. Neppe's independent assessments, based on his notes and recall of patient interviews, resulted in slightly stronger trends toward credible S-ESP experiences and a dampening effect of A-C drugs than found by Palmer.
[under the Research tab]
8.5.1 Temporal Anomalies
DXM does seem to exert profound effects on temporal lobe limbic networks. These networks may integrate sensory data from the neocortex and the current contents of intermediate term memory, keeping the results in a resonating feedback loop until it can be discarded, acted upon (by passing it to the motor cortex), or integrated permanently into long-term memory. Dissociatives seem to lower the strength of sensory input, possibly by increasing the firing of neurons which inhibit sensory networks. Similarly, the NMDA receptors which are responsible for forming intermediate-term memories are inhibited. So one is left with a resonant circuit whose other inputs have been attenuated or cut off.
These patterns (internal states) pass repeatedly through the limbic networks (and this seems to be strongly related to the production of theta waves). Eventually, the "goal" (if one wants to think of it that way) is probably to reach some sort of a decision, and then pass the information to the motor cortex where action can be taken; supporting this idea is the fact that theta wave activity drops immediately before motor cortex activation. However, with motor output reduced, one is left with a constant echoing of signals through the limbic areas (possibly bouncing back and forth among the neocortex, prefrontal lobes, and other areas). As these signals bounce back and forth without being "tied down" to sensory input or memory, they become increasingly distant in form from any normal signals you're likely to encounter.
It has been suggested that all human temporal limbic networks share a common "language", i.e., a particular pattern of neural activity in one person's limbic system and an equivalent pattern in another person's limbic system are paired with equivalent mental states. This is a bold assertion, and if true means that internal states (such as happiness, anger, boredom, familiarity, comfort, recognition, novelty, perhaps even as complex as "I'm being abducted by aliens") may be encoded in different individuals by the same neural patterns. Thus, the particular patterns induced by dissociatives may simply correspond to particular sensations, states, emotions, and/or beliefs, that people interpret in similar ways.
Going one step further, it may be that the reason that people encounter UFOs and aliens nowadays, whereas they encountered airships, ghosts, faeries, spirits, etc., before, was that while the internal states are the same, the memories or ideas associated with them have changed. The neural network pattern that in a modern human means "UFO" may have meant "demon" a few centuries ago. These patterns are outside the range of normal brain functioning, but may be induced by drugs, electromagnetic waves, temporal lobe seizures, and so on.
See also that one of their research projects "explor[ed] ESP as expressed through motor automatisms, which, if genuine, reflect a dissociative state of consciousness expected to be psi-conducive" (under "Motor Automatisms as a Vehicle for ESP Expression").
SUBJECTIVE PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES IN TEMPORAL LOBE DYSFUNCTION IN A NEUROPSYCHIATRIC POPULATION: ANALYSES OF REFINED PREDICTORS
John Palmer, Vernon Neppe, H. Nebel and S. Magill
Proceedings of Presented Papers: The Parapsychological Association 45rd Annual Convention, 2002, 140-155
Subjective paranormal experiences in temporal lobe dysfunction in a neuropsychiatric population: Exploratory analyses. Paper to be submitted to the 2002 Parapsychological Association Convention. In a previous paper, the authors reported that patients classified as having temporal lobe dysfunction (TLD) on the basis of responses to a symptom questionnaire (INSET), EEG abnormalities, predisposing conditions for TLD, and response to anti-convulsant (A-C) drugs reported more subjective paranormal experiences (SPEs) than did patients not so classified, but the results were entirely attributable to INSET as the predictor. Females were significantly more likely than males to be classified as TLD and to report multiple SPEs. The present paper reports exploratory logistic regression analyses conducted to uncover relationships between specific predictor variables and patient claims of subjective ESP experiences (S-ESP) on INSET. Eliminating those who claimed S-ESP only rarely left an S-ESP group (N=53) to be compared with a No-S-ESP, or control, group (N=40). Independent variables included gender, age, the 16 INSET items, EEG measures reflecting the location and type of anomalous activity, measures of handedness and brain laterality, specific recreational drugs, and head injury. The significant variables ( p < .10, two-tailed) in the final model were gender, laterality, and (from INSET) the jamais vu item and the combined visual and auditory hallucinations items, the ESP group being characterized by right-lateralized females who scored high on the selected INSET items. A significant interaction was found between gender and a measure of EEG anomalies that occurred in the temporal lobes and sometimes extending to adjacent areas, but not generalized over the whole scalp. These anomalies were positively related to ESP in females and negatively in males. More refined analyses indicated that the effect for females was contributed entirely by activity other than slowing in the left hemisphere, sometimes extending bilaterally to the right temporal, or the frontal lobes. Significant (p < .10) predictors of S-ESP in a regression model for females were the revised temporal EEG measure, laterality, and visual/auditory hallucinations. The number of males in the sample (N = 27) was considered too small for a meaningful regression analysis. As far as the brain is concerned, S-ESP appeared to be most prevalent among right-lateralized females with relatively high-frequency EEG anomalies in their dominant (left) hemisphere. These exploratory findings need to be cross-validated with a new sample before the results can be considered conclusive. Palmer also interviewed 20 patients from the ESP group to get a sense of the credibility of the S-ESP experiences they claimed, and whether they could detect any effect of A-C drugs on the frequency of these experiences. He found that 13 of the 20 had credible experiences, 4 had marginally credible experiences, and 3 had non-credible experiences (2 of these 3 later told Neppe they had under-reported their ESP experiences to Palmer.) 8 of the 14 patients taking A-C drugs claimed these suppressed the frequency of S-ESP, 2 claimed enhanced frequency, and 4 claimed no difference. Neppe's independent assessments, based on his notes and recall of patient interviews, resulted in slightly stronger trends toward credible S-ESP experiences and a dampening effect of A-C drugs than found by Palmer.
[under the Research tab]
8.5.1 Temporal Anomalies
DXM does seem to exert profound effects on temporal lobe limbic networks. These networks may integrate sensory data from the neocortex and the current contents of intermediate term memory, keeping the results in a resonating feedback loop until it can be discarded, acted upon (by passing it to the motor cortex), or integrated permanently into long-term memory. Dissociatives seem to lower the strength of sensory input, possibly by increasing the firing of neurons which inhibit sensory networks. Similarly, the NMDA receptors which are responsible for forming intermediate-term memories are inhibited. So one is left with a resonant circuit whose other inputs have been attenuated or cut off.
These patterns (internal states) pass repeatedly through the limbic networks (and this seems to be strongly related to the production of theta waves). Eventually, the "goal" (if one wants to think of it that way) is probably to reach some sort of a decision, and then pass the information to the motor cortex where action can be taken; supporting this idea is the fact that theta wave activity drops immediately before motor cortex activation. However, with motor output reduced, one is left with a constant echoing of signals through the limbic areas (possibly bouncing back and forth among the neocortex, prefrontal lobes, and other areas). As these signals bounce back and forth without being "tied down" to sensory input or memory, they become increasingly distant in form from any normal signals you're likely to encounter.
It has been suggested that all human temporal limbic networks share a common "language", i.e., a particular pattern of neural activity in one person's limbic system and an equivalent pattern in another person's limbic system are paired with equivalent mental states. This is a bold assertion, and if true means that internal states (such as happiness, anger, boredom, familiarity, comfort, recognition, novelty, perhaps even as complex as "I'm being abducted by aliens") may be encoded in different individuals by the same neural patterns. Thus, the particular patterns induced by dissociatives may simply correspond to particular sensations, states, emotions, and/or beliefs, that people interpret in similar ways.
Going one step further, it may be that the reason that people encounter UFOs and aliens nowadays, whereas they encountered airships, ghosts, faeries, spirits, etc., before, was that while the internal states are the same, the memories or ideas associated with them have changed. The neural network pattern that in a modern human means "UFO" may have meant "demon" a few centuries ago. These patterns are outside the range of normal brain functioning, but may be induced by drugs, electromagnetic waves, temporal lobe seizures, and so on.
See also that one of their research projects "explor[ed] ESP as expressed through motor automatisms, which, if genuine, reflect a dissociative state of consciousness expected to be psi-conducive" (under "Motor Automatisms as a Vehicle for ESP Expression").
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Date: 2004-02-07 04:58 pm (UTC)