The Psychology and Neuroscience of

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The Psychology and Neuroscience of
Mystical Experience
Vaughan Bell vaughan_at_backspace.org
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Outline

• What is our definition of a mystical experience ?
• Relationship to psychopathology
• Meditation Studies
• Michael Persingers work on the role of the
  temporal lobes in mystical experience.
• Is it all in the brain ?

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A Universal Experience

• Two very different examples

• St Theresa of Avila.
• Saw angels, cherubim, bright lights and had many
  ecstatic experiences.
• On St. Peter's Day of 1559 became firmly
  convinced that Christ was present to her in
  bodily form, though invisible. This vision lasted
  almost uninterruptedly for more than 2 years.

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A Universal Experience

• Philip K Dick, author of science fiction classics
  like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ? and
  The Man in the High Castle

• Had a series of visions he called collectively
  2-3-74
• On the surface the universe consists of a
  spurious projected reality, under which lies an
  authentic substratum of the divine

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A Universal Experience

• An individuals mystical experience may be valued
  very differently by society.
• It may be seen as a deep insight into the divine
  that motivates many followers (Jesus, Buddha,
  Mohammed).
• Or as an object of ridicule (David Icke).
• However, to each individual it is likely that the
  experience is profound and meaningful.

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An attempt at definition

• William James (1902) cites four features of a
  mystical experience
• Ineffability - in that it defies expression.
• Noetic quality - mystical states also seem to be
  states of knowledge.
• Transiency - mystical states are not sustained
  for long periods (lasting hours rather than days
  or longer).
• Passivity - when the characteristic sort of
  consciousness has set in, the mystic feels as if
  his own state of will were in abeyance

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An attempt at definition

• James definition is perhaps a little narrow,
  assuming a road to Damascus kind of experience.
• Gellhorn and Keily (1972) make a distinction
  between two types of mystical experience
• Trophotropic - a meditative state, linked to the
  suspension of autonomous will or intentionality
  (e.g. Zen Buddhist / Hindu Yogi).
• Ergotrophic - a more frenzied mystical state
  linked to arousal (trance-possession / Sufi
  whirling) and catharsis.

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An attempt at definition

• Although Scott Atran (2002) defines one of the
  most outstanding aspects of mystical experience
• namely, a vivid but diffusely conceived
  awareness of a boundless universe centered on a
  self that has no physical markers or constraints
• How ever many definitions we take, it seems that
  mystical experience is a widespread phenomena.

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Link with Psychopathology

• The link between mystical experience and
  psychopathology is a contentious one.
• Mental illness, particularly psychosis, can
  induce varying intensities of mystical
  experiences and beliefs (e.g. The Messiah
  Complex)
• This is contentious because the traditional
  concept of mental illness is one laden with
  negative values, experiences supposedly devoid of
  true meaning.

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Link with Psychopathology

• Two views
• James argued against what he called medical
  materialism saying
• whatever be our organisms peculiarities, our
  mental states have their substantive value as
  revelations of the living truth.
• R.D. Laing is often quoted as saying
• the mystic swims in the same water in which the
  schizophrenic drowns

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Link with Psychopathology

• However, there is now increasing evidence that
  the qualitative distinction between psychosis and
  normality is insufficient.
• Johns and van Os (2001) argue for a continuum
  between frank psychosis and more mundane
  experiences of reality.
• Verdoux and van Os (2002) showed that unusual
  experiences (unusual perceptions, anomalous
  beliefs) are prevalent throughout the population.
• However, there must be more to the distinction
  than one purely of degree.

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Cardiff Pagan Pilot Study

• Pagans endorse almost twice the amount of
  anomalous experience, but show less distress for
  each experience of belief.

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Cardiff Pagan Pilot Study

• This suggests we cannot simply understand all
  mystical experiences as sub clinical psychosis.
• There must be other factors which make certain
  types of mystical beliefs and experiences
  beneficial.
• Watch this space !

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Brain Imaging of Meditation

• Meditation is particularly suited to being
  studied by cognitive neuroscience.
• Changes of consciousness can be induced and
  participants stay immobile.
• This makes ideal conditions for neuroimaging
  (brain scanning) of such states.

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Newberg et al (2001)

• Used SPECT neuroimaging to scan eight experience
  Tibetan Buddhist meditators.

Increased activation
Decreased activation
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Side View of Brain
Parietal lobe
Frontal lobe
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Newberg et al (2001)

• The prefrontal cortex is known to be involved
  with attention and focus.
• The parietal cortex with object associations and
  spatial knowledge.
• Newberg et al speculate that meditation causes
• increased mental focus
• breakdown of the boundary between self and other
• can be explained by the changes in activation in
  these brain areas during meditation.

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Blanke et al (2002)

• Stimulation of the right angular gyrus caused
  reliable out of body experiences.
• Further evidence for the role of the parietal
  cortex in meditating self - other boundaries.

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Persinger and Mystical Experience

• Michael Persinger has linked mystical experience
  with the several connected brain areas.

Amygdala
Hippocampus
Temporal lobes
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Links with TLTs

• He has found that levels of seizure like
  activation called temporal lobe transients in the
  temporal lobes are related to
• A whole range of anomalous beliefs and
  experiences (sensed presences, time dilation, out
  of body experiences, auditory perceptions).
• Levels of paranormal beliefs.
• Levels of religiosity.

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Temporal Lobe Readings

• EEG reading from temporal lobes during
  Transcendental Meditation session.

Delta frequencies with an aberrant spike and
slow wave profile
emporal
ccipital
Alpha wave activity
rontal
Alpha wave activity
she reported that this particular experience was
especially meaningful and that she felt being
very close to the cosmic whole
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Temporal Lobe Readings

• EEG reading from temporal lobes during
  glossolalia (speaking in tongues).

pike events
The subject reported that the closet contact
with the Spirit occurred during the latter
periods of the session
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Temporal Lobe Stimulation

• Persinger has installed a system in the side of a
  motor bike helmet to produce weak complex
  magnetic fields over the temporal lobes.

• Right temporal, or bilateral stimulation produced
  sensations of fear and sensed presences.

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Persingers Conclusions

• Rather dramatically, Persinger concludes
• This experimental procedure could be employed to
  explore the idea that the experience of a sensed
  presence is a resident property of the human
  brain and may be the fundamental source for
  phenomena attributed to visitation by gods,
  spirits and other ephemeral phenomena

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Is it all in the brain ?

• Skeptics use such studies to argue that mystical
  experience is internally generated entirely by
  neural systems and has no intrinsic value.
• However, this is reading too much into the data
  at the present time.
• Whilst the evidence suggests that some
  experiences may be purely internally generated it
  cannot say that all are.
• No such distinction can be made.
• In fact, science has a lot of problems even
  addressing this problem, as it only adequately
  addresses falsifiable hypothesis.

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Is it all in the brain ?

• We must also question whether such judgements are
  of any use at all.
• Mystical experiences have greatly benefited
  individuals and society as a whole.
• Why use our understanding of how the brain is
  involved in these experiences to make value
  judgments of their validity ?