Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions
Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1993 DOI: 10.2466/pms.1993.76.3.915 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Experiential learning Cognitive psychology Audiology Literature |
| Citations | 86 |
| Key points | Proposes that the relative metabolic activity between cerebral hemispheres during interhemispheric intercalation determines the affect, content, and type of sensed presence experiences, including entities, gods, out-of-body experiences, and space-time alterations. |
Abstract
Multiple variants of the sensed presence often precede mystical and religious experiences that are frequently followed by sudden, permanent changes in self-concept. The model of vectorial hemisphericity assumes that the relative metabolic activity of synaptic patterns between the cerebral hemispheres at the time of transient interhemispheric intercalation determines the affect, content, and type of experience. Depending upon the relative activity of the two hemispheres, intrusions of the right hemispheric equivalent of the left hemispheric (and linguistic) sense of self generate experimental phenomena that include "evil entities," gods, out-of-body experiences, and alterations in space-time. Conditions that facilitate interhemispheric intercalation and the generation of these experiences are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Interpretation and Mystical Experience | 1965 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- The neural substrates of religious experience The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences August 1, 1997
- Brain changes during a shamanic trance: Altered modes of consciousness, hemispheric laterality, and systemic psychobiology Cogent Psychology April 24, 2017
- Potential production of Hughlings Jackson's “parasitic consciousness” by physiologically-patterned weak transcerebral magnetic fields: QEEG and source localization Epilepsy & Behavior July 17, 2013
- Enhanced Incidence of “The Sensed Presence” in People Who Have Learned to Meditate: Support for the Right Hemispheric Intrusion Hypothesis Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1992
- The Harribance Effect as Pervasive Out-of-Body Experiences: NeuroQuantal Evidence with More Precise Measurements NeuroQuantology June 25, 2010
and 7 more in the library
Cites 2
- Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1983
- Enhanced Incidence of “The Sensed Presence” in People Who Have Learned to Meditate: Support for the Right Hemispheric Intrusion Hypothesis Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1992