Behavioural and brain responses in cognitive trance: A TMS-EEG case study.
Clinical Neurophysiology November 27, 2019 O. Gosseries, M. Fecchio, Audrey Wolff et al.
A single highly trained expert in cognitive trance—a self-induced, focused state of consciousness—underwent transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography during normal wakefulness and during trance. The trance state was induced using a standardized protocol of body movements and vocalizations. Compared to resting wakefulness, the electrical reactivity of cortical circuits to magnetic pulses changed during trance, with differences measured across frontal and parietal brain areas. The findings suggest that cognitive trance alters the brain's electrical responses to external perturbations, offering insight into the neurophysiology of this state.