Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging
June 2026
Jéssica Plácido, Marco Aurélio Vinhosa Bastos, Paulo Roberto Haidamus de Oliveira Bastos et al.
The Brain Functional Networks (BFN) approach integrates Electroencephalography, Graph Theory, and Motif Synchronization to identify brain regions that are functionally connected over time, even if spatially distant. This contrasts with previous studies on mediumship. To analyze BFN topological indices during mediumistic trance. Secondary data collected in Campo Grande, Brazil, were analyzed....
PLoS One
2026
Kleber Monteiro Pinto, Thaise G. L. de O. Toutain, Hugo Saba et al.
Mediumistic trance, studied as a cultural phenomenon, is considered an altered state of consciousness with dissociative and non-pathological characteristics. Studies on the effect of this trance state on linguistic performance using electroencephalography (EEG) are still scarce. We investigated the brain electrical activity of mediums using quantitative EEG (qEEG) during writing in waking and...
Medicine
January 6, 2023
Tiago Rodrigues de Lemos Augusto, Juliana Peroni, Wandriane De Vargas et al.
Adjunctive therapy for hypertension is in high demand for clinical research. Therefore, several meta-analyses have provided sufficient evidence for meditation as an adjunct therapy, without being anchored on reliable physiological grounds. Meditation modulates the autonomic nervous system. Herein, we propose a hierarchical-dependent effect for the carotid body (CB) in attenuating blood pressure...
Explore
2022
Marco Aurélio Vinhosa Bastos, Paulo Roberto Haidamus Oliveira Bastos, Geraldo Barbosa Foscaches Filho et al.
6 citations
Evidence indicates that highly hypnotizable subjects may have larger area of the rostrum of the corpus callosum (CC). Mediumship can be defined as the alleged ability to communicate regularly with deceased personalities, and self-hypnosis is postulated as an underlying mechanism for this ability. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the CC area, hypnotic susceptibility, self-reported...
Brain and Behavior
July 1, 2020
Marco Aurélio Vinhosa Bastos, Paulo Roberto Haidamus de Oliveira Bastos, Loyná Euá Flores E Paez et al.
8 citations
Cultural traditions attribute to pineal gland an important role for spiritual experiences. Mediumship and spirit possession are cultural phenomena found worldwide which have been described as having dissociative and psychotic-like characteristics, but with nonpathological aspects. A sympathetic activation pattern in response to spirit possession has been reported in some studies, but empirical...
Transcultural Psychiatry
April 1, 2018
Marco Aurélio Vinhosa Bastos, Paulo Roberto Haidamus de Oliveira Bastos, Igraíne Helena Scholz Osório et al.
12 citations
Mediumship and spirit possession are cultural phenomena found in many societies worldwide. In Brazil, Spiritism (a tradition in which mediumship is emphasized) is the third largest religious denomination. The present study aimed to investigate physiologic correlates of nonpathological dissociative experiences by comparing 20 female spiritist mediums with several years of socially sanctioned...
Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo)
October 1, 2015
Marco Aurélio Vinhosa Bastos, Paulo Roberto Haidamus de Oliveira Bastos, Lídia Gonçalves et al.
32 citations
Background Mediumship can be defined as the alleged ability to communicate with deceased persons. The last decade has been particularly productive for this field of research and the study of mediumship can help the understanding of the human mind-brain relationship and provide objective data to the scientific community and to the general population. Objective The aim of this review is to...