Neurotropic and biophysics effects of mental practices. Focus on Kyokushin karate kata

Kyokushin karate kata (KKK) practice, but not Reiki, increased delta, alpha, and theta brainwave power in the sender, especially in temporal and parietal areas, while decreasing beta power in frontal regions. Remote KKK influence increased synaptic efficacy in rat hippocampal slices by 7.5% on average, whereas Reiki showed no effect. Both KKK and Christian prayer increased light activity of distilled water, but only when the sender's delta brainwave power increased and EEG entropy decreased. Strong correlations were found between the sender's brain and energy parameters during KKK and changes in the rat's hippocampal synaptic efficacy. The findings suggest a dual biophotonic and negentropic mechanism underlying KKK's effects.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background. In Eastern martial arts, non-contact mental influence on a partner is described, often associated with the concept of energy-informational exchange. The Kyokushin karate kata (KKK) practice is particularly noteworthy in this context. The purpose was to explore the neurophysiological and biophysical mechanisms underlying the effect of KKK on brain activity of the sender and the physiological state of the receiver in both animal models (rat’s hippocampal slice) and non-biological systems (distilled water). Materials and methods. Three experiments were conducted: 1) electoroncefalography (EEG), heart rate variability (HRV), and electro-photonic imaging/gas discharge visualization (EPI/GDV) were recorded in ККК master and Reiki practitioner; 2) synaptic efficacy in rat’s hippocampal slice was measured during remote mental interventions; 3) light activity of distilled water, induced by gas discharge, was analyzed after exposure to KKK and canonical Christian prayer. Data analysis included EEG and EPI signal processing, entropy calculations, correlation, canonical, multiple regression and discriminant analysis. Results. KKK practice, but not Reiki significantly increased EEG delta, alpha and theta spectral power density (SPD), to the greatest extent in temporal and parietal loci, while decreased beta SPD to the greatest extent in frontal, prefrontal and central loci, reduced both spectral and EPI entropy, and enhanced EPI energy characteristics. Remote KKK influence induced a notable increase in rat’s hippocampal synaptic efficacy (+7.5 ± 5.1 %) while Reiki was ineffective (–0.5 ± 4.8 %) (mean ± SD). Strong canonical correlations were identified between sender’s parameters during sessions and changes in rat’s hippocampal synaptic efficacy as the receiver: R = 0.936; 0.931; 0,913, and 0.959 with EEG SPD, EEG entropy, EPI entropy and EEG & EPI in total, respectively. Both KKK and Christian prayer increased the light activity of distilled water, but only in cases where they increased SPD of delta rhythm while decreased EEG entropy and energy of the third virtual chakra. Conclusions. Findings support the proposed hypothesis of a dual-biophotonic (energy-mediated) and negentropic (information-mediated) mechanism underlying KKK effects, observable through objective neurophysiological and biophysical parameters. Compared to other mental practices, KKK demonstrated more pronounced (Reiki) or equal (prayer) systemic influence.