Unveiling the EEG signatures of extrasensory perception during spiritual experiences: A single-case study with a well-renowned channeler.

A single-case study examined a channeler with 30 years of experience who claims to connect with non-corporeal intelligences. EEG results ruled out fraud and mental pathology as explanations for the experience, but the authors concluded that more information was needed to determine whether extrasensory perception was involved. The approach may help design future rigorous protocols for studying mediumship and channeling, potentially contributing to a better understanding of the brain during spiritual experiences.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Just as the brain of Albert Einstein is studied in an attempt to understand human intelligence or the bodies of elite athletes are examined to improve muscle strength, the study of people who claim to have spiritual experiences could enrich the investigation of the brain-mind relationship. Although mediumship with deceased people is widely extensively studied in spiritual experiences, we explored a mediumistic experience called "channeling" where the individual connects with a non-corporeal intelligence (NCI) source. To approach this kind of spiritual experience, we considered three hypotheses: the fraud hypothesis (i), the mental pathology hypothesis (ii), and the extrasensory perception hypothesis (iii). In this single case study, the participant was a well-known channeler with nearly three decades of experience connecting with NCIs. Given the EEG results, we rejected the fraud hypothesis, rejected the mental pathology hypothesis, and felt we needed more information to conclude the extrasensory perception hypothesis. The approach of the present single-case study may help researchers design follow-up rigorous protocols for mediumship and channeling studies, which could contribute to a better understanding of the brain during spiritual experiences.