Emotion in mystical experience
Religion, Brain & Behavior 2013 DOI: 10.1080/2153599x.2012.703004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Key points | Argues that the temporolimbic model is inadequate for explaining the actual features of mystical experience, particularly its emotional aspects, and that incorporating traditional mystical accounts would improve future neuropsychological research. |
Abstract
This study is a critique of three assumptions that have significantly shaped the neuropsychological study of mystical experience: (a) intense positive emotion, especially ecstasy, is the defining feature of mystical experience; (b) abnormal temporolimbic activity, particularly epileptiform activity, is the central mediating factor or cause of mystical experience; and (c) mystical experience resembles and is possibly the same as the emotional and perceptual phenomena associated with ecstatic seizures. The assumptions will be treated collectively as the “temporolimbic model” of mystical experience. The discrepancy in the prevalence of ecstatic seizures and of mystical experience is discussed. A theory exemplifying the temporolimbic model is critiqued. Emotion in mystical experience is compared with ictal affect and ictal pleasure. A phenomenological analysis of a mystical account written by Symeon the New Theologian (AD 949–1022) is presented as a counterexample to the temporolimbic model. The conclusion is that the temporolimbic model is inadequate for explaining the actual features of mystical experience, and particularly ill-suited for identifying and describing emotion in mystical experience. Future studies in the neuropsychology of mystical experience would benefit from adopting an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates the analysis of traditional mystical accounts.
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 | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | 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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Epistemological implications of near-death experiences and other non-ordinary mental expressions: Moving beyond the concept of altered state of consciousness Medical Hypotheses April 11, 2015
- Mystical experiences associated with seizures Religion, Brain & Behavior April 8, 2014
- The Mind Under Mysticism July 3, 2026
- The “God gene” hypothesis and the neurobiological foundations of spirituality Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health March 9, 2026
- Numinous-like symptoms in epilepsy and/or insular tumors: A hospital cohort study. Epilepsy & Behavior January 22, 2026
and 2 more in the library
Cites 14
- The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience Choice Reviews Online June 1, 2000
- Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1983
- The neural substrates of religious experience The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences August 1, 1997
- Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century 2020
- The Limbic System and the Soul: Evolution and the Neuroanatomy of Religious Experience Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science March 2, 2001
and 9 more in the library