F1000Research
January 29, 2016
Daryl Bem, Patrizio Tressoldi, Thomas Rabeyron et al.
78 citations
A meta-analysis of 90 experiments from 33 laboratories in 14 countries found evidence for a small but statistically significant precognition effect—the ability to be influenced by a randomly selected stimulus before it occurs. The overall effect size (Hedges' g) was 0.09, with a combined z-score of 6.40 and a Bayes Factor of 5.1 × 10⁹, exceeding the threshold for decisive evidence. When the original author's experiments were excluded, the effect size for independent replications was 0.06, with z = 4.16. Additional analyses indicated the database was not significantly compromised by selection bias or p-hacking. The authors discuss the controversial status of precognition and related psi phenomena.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
January 2, 2019
Enrico Facco, Edoardo Casiglia, Benedikt Emanuel Al Khafaji et al.
38 citations
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) induced through hypnosis provide a controlled way to study the phenomenon. In 15 highly hypnotizable people, OBEs were evoked either as an imaginative task while resting or under hypnosis. Brain activity was recorded with EEG, and participants completed a questionnaire about their experience. The hypnotic OBEs produced stronger feelings of altered state, positive affect, and focused attention, along with decreased beta and gamma brainwave power in the right parieto-temporal region. These findings suggest that hypnotically induced OBEs can serve as a useful experimental model for spontaneous out-of-body experiences.
Journal of Anomalous Experience and Cognition
December 30, 2022
Patrizio Tressoldi, Lance Storm
12 citations
A review of 11 meta-analyses on anomalous cognition, covering over 80 years of research, indicates that such phenomena appear possible. Effect sizes are larger when studies use non-ordinary or altered states of consciousness (e.g., dreaming, ganzfeld), free-response procedures, or neurophysiological dependent variables. These conditions seem to facilitate a form of cognition not constrained by known biological sensory or brain limits. The findings broaden understanding of the mind-brain relationship and the nature of the human mind.
Journal of Scientific Exploration
March 8, 2021
Marilyn Schlitz, Daryl Bem, † Davíd et al.
11 citations
Two international experiments attempted to replicate a controversial precognition study by Daryl Bem. The experiments reversed the usual cause-effect sequence: participants responded to stimuli before a prime appeared, testing whether response times would be longer for incongruent stimuli. The preregistered confirmatory hypothesis was not supported in either experiment. Exploratory analyses in Experiment 1 found a significant effect only among English-language participants, not those using translations.
Frontiers in Psychology
October 16, 2025
Bruce Greyson, Jeffrey Long, Janice Miner Holden et al.
3 citations
A new scale, the veridical Near-Death Experience Scale (vNDE Scale), was developed to assess how strong the evidence is for perceptions reported during near-death experiences. Thirteen experts used a Delphi method to agree on eight criteria, including timing of investigation, medical conditions, third-party verification, and the number and quality of perceptions, scored on a four-level Likert scale. The scale was then tested on 17 cases of potentially veridical NDEs by 11 human raters and three artificial raters using large language models. In 14 of the 17 cases (82.3%), human and artificial raters agreed at over 75% when considering two adjacent evidence levels, such as moderate plus strong or low plus very low. The scale offers a practical way to evaluate the evidential strength of reported NDE perceptions.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)
October 1, 2015
Daryl Bem, Patrizio Tressoldi, Thomas Rabeyron et al.
1 citation
A meta-analysis of 90 experiments from 33 laboratories in 14 countries found evidence for precognition—the ability to be influenced by a future random event before it occurs. The overall effect was highly significant (z = 6.40, p = 1.2 × 10⁻¹⁰) with a small effect size (Hedges’ g = 0.09). When the original author's experiments were excluded, the effect remained significant (g = 0.06, z = 4.16, p = 1.1 × 10⁻⁵). Bayesian analysis provided decisive evidence for the effect. Statistical tests indicated the database was not significantly affected by selection bias or p-hacking. The authors discuss the controversial status of precognition and related psi phenomena.
July 26, 2025
Bruce Greyson, Jeffrey Long, Janice Holden et al.
preprint
A new scale, the veridical Near-Death Experience Scale (vNDE Scale), was developed to assess how strong the evidence is for perceptions reported during near-death experiences. Experts in near-death experiences reached consensus on eight criteria covering timing, medical conditions, third-party verification, and the type and quality of perceptions, scored on a four-level Likert scale. When 11 human raters and three artificial raters using large language models applied the scale to 17 cases, overall agreement between human and artificial judges exceeded 75% in 14 of the 17 cases (82.3%), considering adjacent levels of evidence strength. The scale offers a practical way to evaluate the evidential strength of such perceptions.
University of Derby Online Research Archive.
February 8, 2019
Lance Storm, Adam J. Rock, Simon J. Sherwood et al.
Dream-ESP is a form of extrasensory perception in which a sleeping person supposedly gains information about a randomly selected target without using normal senses or logic. A meta-analysis of studies from 1966 to 2016 found significant effects supporting the ESP hypothesis. A critique by Howard (2018) reported much weaker effects after re-analyzing the data using inverse-variance weights. While Howard replicated some findings, other results are disputed. The authors discuss meta-analytic methods, including publication bias and handling outliers, and present re-analyses challenging some of Howard's conclusions.
Patrizio Tressoldi, Fabio Mattiussi
preprint
Long-term meditators with at least five years of daily practice described their most profound meditative experiences as involving stable states of body and identity transcendence, often characterized by non-dual awareness and a pervasive sense of unity. Their personal interpretations of consciousness tended to view it as universal rather than a product of the brain. These first-person accounts provide insights into advanced meditation experiences and the nature of consciousness, underscoring the value of qualitative research in this field.
Enrico Facco, Edoardo Casiglia, Benedikt Emanuel Al Khafaji et al.
preprint
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) induced through hypnosis (H-OBEs) produce stronger phenomenological changes than those induced through imagination alone. In 15 highly hypnotizable participants, H-OBEs led to significantly higher scores on the Altered State, Positive Affect, Altered Experience, and Attention subdimensions of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory, alongside a decrease in beta and gamma band power in right parieto-temporal brain regions. These findings suggest that hypnotically induced OBEs may serve as a useful model for studying genuine OBEs, involving altered multisensory integration in right parieto-temporal areas.
Death Studies
January 1, 2021
Luciano Pederzoli, Eugenia De Stefano, Patrizio Tressoldi
A retrospective analysis of 44 reported death experiences between incarnations from 36 participants during hypnotic life regression sessions found that these experiences closely resemble classic near-death experiences. Using the Italian Near-Death Experience Scale, most reports fell into the 'Affective' category, particularly feeling joy and seeing a bright light, and the 'Transcendental' category. The most common 'Paranormal' experience was feeling separated from one's body. 18% of total scores met the threshold for identifying true near-death experiences. Whether these accounts reflect actual experiences or learned narratives remains uncertain.
ScienceOpen Research
February 26, 2020
Patrizio Tressoldi, Enrico Facco, Daniela Lucangeli
Two theories of consciousness are compared for their ability to explain various qualia experiences, including meta-awareness, meta-cognition, the placebo effect, out-of-body experiences, cognitive therapy, and meditation-induced brain changes. One theory holds that qualia arise from specific neural patterns; the other posits that qualia result from the interaction of a proto-consciousness with brain activity. The comparison aims to determine which theory better accounts for these phenomena and offers a more promising research agenda.
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
January 1, 2017
Enrico Facco, Daniela Lucangeli, Patrizio Tressoldi
The concept of consciousness and the mind-brain relationship, known as the 'hard problem,' remain unresolved, involving both science and philosophy with deep epistemological implications. The debate on the foundations of consciousness science contains philosophical biases related to the adopted paradigm and axioms, and the logical contradiction between monism and dualism. These biases originated largely from Descartes' thinking and the birth of modern sciences as a compromise with the Inquisition, persisting through the Enlightenment and Positivism. A proper investigation of consciousness and subjectivity requires reflection on the paradigm of scientific medicine to identify flaws and overcome the limits of the mechanistic-reductionist approach.
F1000Research
January 1, 2017
Patrizio Tressoldi, Enrico Facco, Daniela Lucangeli
This essay argues that, given current science, some first-person descriptions of experience cannot be reduced to third-person neural or psychophysiological measurements. When analyzing the contents of qualia—the subjective qualities of experience—these first-person accounts are the only relevant information. For many phenomena, such reports are the sole reliable source, and knowing their neural or psychophysical correlates adds no further insight into the experiences themselves.
Sage Open
October 1, 2015
Patrizio Tressoldi, Luciano Pederzoli, Patrizio Caini et al.
Hypnotic inductions can trigger real out-of-body experiences (OBEs), allowing researchers to interview participants during the event. Six participants described an intermediate entity called a "subtle body"—a white, silvered cloud around the physical body with enlarged hands and feet that moves quickly like flying, though with a vague sense of attrition when passing through walls. This subtle body connects to the physical body by a brilliant white link, sometimes described as a silvered string, while no visible links connect it to the "psychic body" (the self or I-identity). Both bodies can move forward and backward in time without a sense of time. These descriptions align with Vedanta philosophy and Theosophical tradition.
Patrizio Tressoldi, Luciano Pederzoli
During hypnosis, five participants experienced out-of-body states and tried to describe images located hundreds of kilometers away. On average, participants correctly identified 46.7% of the images, while two independent judges correctly identified 66.7%, compared to a 25% chance probability. Their reported experiences shared common features: a disembodied sense of self that could perceive and move by will alone, without physical eyesight, in a timeless three-dimensional world. The validity of these reports is discussed, weighing whether they reflect genuine out-of-body experiences or prior knowledge by participants or the hypnotist.