God helmet

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The God Helmet.

God Helmet refers to an experimental apparatus used in neuroscience, primarily in the field of neurotheology. Originally called the "Koren helmet" after its inventor Stanley Koren, it was conceived to study creativity and the effects of subtle stimulation of the mesiobasal temporal lobes.[1] Reports by participants of a "sensed presence" brought public attention to the God Helmet through appearances in several TV documentaries showing it in use.[2]

The apparatus, placed on the head of an experimental subject, generates weak fluctuating (i.e. "complex") magnetic fields. These fields are approximately as strong as those generated by a land line telephone handset or an ordinary hair dryer, but far weaker than that of an ordinary fridge magnet. It is used extensively by Michael Persinger, a neuroscientist at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Persinger has published extensively about the effects on the human brain of the "complex" magnetic fields generated by the God helmet and other similar devices.[3] Many subjects have reported "mystical experiences and altered states"[4] while wearing the God Helmet. Although demonstrated to journalists[5] and documentarists,[6] these effects await the publication of independent replications in formal peer-reviewed scientific journals. The only attempt at replication published in the scientific literature reported a failure to replicate Persinger's effects.[7] Persinger claims the replication was flawed.[8][9] The Swedish group disagrees.[10]

Persinger reports that at least 80 percent of his participants experience a presence beside them in the room, which ranges from a simple 'sensed presence' to visions of God.[11] About one percent experienced God, while many more had less evocative, but still significant experiences of "another consciousness or sentient being".[12] The God Helmet has received attention from the media and theologians because of the challenge it appears to present to traditional beliefs in God. Although only a small number (on the order of 1%) of the experimental subjects saw God in the laboratory,[13][self-published source?] their experiences can be interpreted as meaning that God is the subjective experience of an unusual kind of brain function. In contrast, most of the subjects had the experience of 'sensing' a 'presence'.[11]

Contents

[edit] Theory

The God Helmet was not specifically designed to elicit visions of God.[1] Like most experiments, the God Helmet procedure was designed to test specific hypotheses. The first of these is the "vectorial hemisphericity" hypothesis,[14] which proposes that the human sense of self has two components, one on each side of the brain, that ordinarily work together but in which the left hemisphere is usually dominant.[15][16] The two hemispheres make different contributions to a single sense of self, but under certain conditions can appear as two separate 'selves'. The God Helmet was designed to create conditions in which contributions in tandem to the sense of self from both cerebral hemispheres is disrupted.

The second experimental hypothesis was that when communication between the left and right senses of self is disturbed, the usually-subordinate 'self' in the right hemisphere intrudes into the awareness of the left-hemispheric dominant self,[16] causing what Persinger refers to as "interhemispheric intrusions".[14]

The third hypothesis was that the variety of "visitor experiences" can be explained by "interhemispheric intrusions" caused by a disruption in "vectorial hemisphericity".[17] Persinger claims that many paranormal experiences,[18] feelings of having lived past lives,[19] felt presences of non-physical beings,[20] ghosts,[21] muses,[22] and other "spiritual beings", are examples of interhemispheric intrusions.

The God Helmet experiments were also intended to validate the idea that religious and mystic experiences are artifacts of temporal lobe function.[23]

[edit] Methods

Persinger uses a modified snowmobile helmet that incorporates solenoids placed over the temporal lobes. His formal name for the equipment is the "Koren Helmet" (after its inventor, Stanley Koren). He also uses a device nicknamed "The Octopus" which uses solenoids around the whole brain, in a circle just above subject's ears. Both of these devices produce "weak but complex"[24][25] (1 microTesla)[26] magnetic fields.

A computer is used to control the solenoids, the outputs of which are amplitude-modulated and non-sinusoidal (which Persinger refers to as "complex").[27] Most of the signals employed are derived from physiological sources, for example patterns that appear in EEG traces taken from limbic structures.[28] Only one of the coils on each side of the helmet is active at any one time, and the active coil changes constantly, "rotating" counterclockwise over each temporal lobe. Persinger's God Helmet sessions consist of two stimulations, applied one after the other.[28] The first of these uses a signal "tailored from a chirp sequence"[clarification needed],[28] applied over right temporal lobe. In the second phase of the procedure, both temporal lobes are stimulated, with a pattern derived from the amygdala.[28]

The sessions are conducted with the subject seated in a comfortable chair in an acoustic chamber.[29] The acoustic chamber is also a Faraday cage,[28] shielding out all EMF emissions and radiation except the Earth's magnetic field. This shielding allows Persinger to use the apparatus to investigate the effects of geomagnetism on the human brain.[30][31]

[edit] Experiences

Persinger claims that this pattern of stimulation can temporarily alter some of the brain activity critical for maintenance of the normal sense of self. It is supposed that during right temporal lobe stimulation the right hemisphere becomes more active, including the more sensitive structures in the limbic system. As this happens, the left side of the brain makes fewer contributions to the subject's state of consciousness. The resulting state of consciousness is less verbal, and in some cases, more apprehensive, even fearful.[32] In one case this stimulation, applied alone, elicited the experience of a frightening ghost for a subject who had the experience previously[clarification needed].[21]

When both lobes are stimulated, Persinger claims, the left side of the brain responds with a burst of activity, and it's at this point that a visitor experience is most likely to appear. In a few oft-mentioned cases from Persinger's lab, the visitor experience has been one of God, but much more often, it's a simple sense of a presence, or a vision of an angel, a deceased being known to the subject, or a group of beings of some kind. A feeling of meaningfulness can occur as the left limbic system is abruptly activated by the change in the stimulation,[22] so that the subject might feel it "means something", infusing the experience with a sense of importance. This kind of meaningfulness is a component of what Persinger calls "The God Experience".[33] The transient above-normal left hemispheric activity also enhances positive affect,[34] a term that embraces bliss and ecstasy, one of the most common features of the "God Experience".

[edit] Use of the God Helmet in the treatment of depression

Persinger's group has also used the God Helmet to study clinical depression. One study found "a significant improvement of depression and reduction of phobias" following application of the God Helmet once a week for five weeks.[35] Another study found that the stimulation was equally effective when applied over either the frontal or temporal lobes, and that complex epileptic signs decreased significantly, but only when the magnetic fields were applied over the temporal lobes (the normal location for the God Helmet's magnetic coils).[36] In another study, "the burst-firing pattern previously demonstrated to be effective for clinical depression, improved mood and vigour compared to the sham-field or other treatments". The experimental report concluded that "rationally designed complex patterns of magnetic fields may simulate pharmacological treatments".[37]

[edit] Replication attempts and subsequent debate

In December 2004 Nature reported that a group of Swedish researchers led by Pehr Granqvist, a psychologist at Uppsala University in Sweden, had attempted to replicate Persinger's experiments under double-blind conditions, and were not able to reproduce the effect.[8] The study was published in Neuroscience Letters in 2005.[7] Granqvist et al concluded that the presence or absence of the magnetic field had no relationship with any religious or spiritual experience reported by the participants, but was predicted entirely by their suggestibility and personality traits. Persinger, however, takes issue with the Swedish attempts to replicate his work. "They didn't replicate it, not even close," he says.[8] He argues that the Swedish group did not expose the subjects to magnetic fields for long enough to produce an effect. Dr. Granqvist, however replied that Dr. Persinger agreed to a 15 minute time period for PET study beforehand.[38] Persinger also stresses that many of his studies were indeed double blinded[39] The Swedish group disagree.[10]

[edit] Anecdotal reports

The scientist and science writer Richard Dawkins, appearing in the BBC science documentary series Horizon, did not have a 'sensed presence' experience,[40] but instead felt at times 'slightly dizzy', 'quite strange' and had sensations in his limbs and changes in his breathing. He summarised his experience as follows: "It pretty much felt as though I was in total darkness, with a helmet on my head and pleasantly relaxed".[41] Persinger explained Dawkin's limited results in terms of his low score on a psychological scale measuring temporal lobe sensitivity.[42]

In contrast, the experimental psychologist, and former parapsychology researcher, Susan Blackmore said: "When I went to Persinger's lab and underwent his procedures I had the most extraordinary experiences I've ever had… I'll be surprised if it turns out to be a placebo effect."[8]

Jack Hitt, a journalist from Wired magazine, visited Persinger's lab in 1999 and expressed confusion over Persinger's post-stimulation debriefing ("One question: Did the red bulb on the wall grow larger or smaller? There was a red bulb on the wall? I hadn't noticed.") and reported: "Many other questions suggest that there were other experiences I should have had, but to be honest, I didn't. In fact, as transcendental experiences go, on a scale of 1 to 10, Persinger's helmet falls somewhere around, oh, 4. Even though I did have a fairly convincing out-of-body experience, I'm disappointed relative to the great expectations and anxieties I had going in."[43]

[edit] Other criticisms

The correlation drawn between temporal lobe epilepsy and religious experience, as discussed by Persinger, has been questioned. The auditory and visual hallucinations as well as emotional states experienced by Temporal Lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients during the seizure state typically induce sensations of malcontent, rather than ecstatic or pleasant sensations that are integral to spiritual experience, as noted by neurologist John R Hughes: "Auditory and visual hallucinations are very uncommon in epilepsy. Epileptic phenomena are nearly always brief and primitive, like light flashes"[44] Persinger counters that even though only a small percent of TLE seizures include religious experiences, the study of these individuals nevertheless provides important evidence concerning the neural basis for religious and mystic experiences.[45][46]

Persinger's findings regarding the effects of environmental geomagnetic activity have, to date, not been independently replicated. One published attempt to create a feeling of a "sensed presence" using an EM- and ultrasound-based "haunted room" instead of a God Helmet, found that reports of unusual experiences were uncorrelated with the presence or absence of "complex" environmental eletromagnetic fields similar to Persinger's. Reports of unusual experiences were however, predicted by the personality characteristics and suggestibility of participants.[47]

[edit] Comparison with TMS

Neither the God Helmet, nor technologies derived from it, are examples of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). However, like TMS, this apparatus has also been used in studies of depression following closed-head brain injuries.[48] TMS uses magnetic fields on the order of one million times stronger than those used in Persinger's lab, but Persinger reports similar effect sizes with his apparatus.[4] The magnetic fields employed in TMS and in Persinger's experiments are also very different. TMS uses single, paired, and repetitive pulses of high intensity to penetrate the cranium.[49] In contrast, Persinger's apparatus uses weak complex magnetic signals, including one derived from limbic burst firing.[50]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Ruttan, L. A., Persinger, M. A. & Koren, S. (1990). "Enhancement of Temporal Lobe-Related Experiences During Brief Exposures to MilliGauss Intensity Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields". Journal of Bioelectricity 9 (1): 33–54 
  2. ^ Science Channel clip of God Helmet
  3. ^ "Michael Persinger's C.V.". http://www.laurentian.ca/NR/rdonlyres/DCEEBD6A-3E13-4F51-ACBD-11612760A1A8/0/PersingerCVSept08.pdf. 
  4. ^ a b Persinger, MA, et al. (2010). "The Electromagnetic Induction of Mystical and Altered States Within the Laboratory". Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research 1 (7): 808–830. ISSN 2135-8212. 
  5. ^ Wired magazine article
  6. ^ Incomplete filmography for Dr. M.A. Persinger
  7. ^ a b Granqvist, P; Fredrikson, M; Unge, P; Hagenfeldt, A; Valind, S; Larhammar, D; Larsson, M (2005). "Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak complex magnetic fields". Neuroscience Letters 379 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2004.10.057. PMID 15849873. Lay summary – BioEd Online (December 9, 2004). 
  8. ^ a b c d Roxanne Khamsi (December 9, 2004). "Electrical brainstorms busted as source of ghosts". BioEd Online. http://www.bioedonline.org/news/news-print.cfm?art=1424. 
  9. ^ Persinger, M; Koren, S (2005). "A response to Granqvist et al. "Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak magnetic fields"". Neuroscience Letters. 380 (3): 346–347. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2005.03.060. PMID 15862915. 
  10. ^ a b Larsson, M., Larhammarb, D., Fredrikson, M., and Granqvist, P. (2005). "Reply to M.A. Persinger and S. A. Koren's response to Granqvist et al. "Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak magnetic fields"". Neuroscience Letters 380 (3): 348–350. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2005.03.059 
  11. ^ a b From BBC interview
  12. ^ Booth, J. N.; Persinger, M. A. (2009). "Discrete Shifts Within the Theta Band Between the Frontal and Parietal Regions of the Right Hemisphere and the Experiences of a Sensed Presence". Journal of Neuropsychiatry 21 (3): 279–83. doi:10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21.3.279. 
  13. ^ "Email quoted here". http://www.shaktitechnology.com/god_helmet.htm. 
  14. ^ a b Persinger, M A (1993). "Vectorial cerebral hemisphericity as differential sources for the sensed presence, mystical experiences and religious conversions". Perceptual and motor skills 76 (3 Pt 1): 915–30. PMID 8321608. 
  15. ^ Persinger, Michael A; Healey, Faye (2002). "Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence: possible intercalation between the hemispheres induced by complex magnetic fields". The Journal of nervous and mental disease 190 (8): 533–41. doi:10.1097/00005053-200208000-00006. PMID 12193838. 
  16. ^ a b Persinger, Michael A; Bureau, YR; Peredery, OP; Richards, PM (1994). "The sensed presence within experimental settings: implications for the male and female concept of self". The Journal of psychology 78 (3 Pt 1): 999–1009. PMID 8084725. Lay summary – Popular article about the "sensed presence".. 
  17. ^ Persinger, M A (1989). "Geophysical variables and behavior: LV. Predicting the details of visitor experiences and the personality of experients: the temporal lobe factor". Perceptual and motor skills 68 (1): 55–65. PMID 2648314. 
  18. ^ Persinger, M A (1993). "Paranormal and religious beliefs may be mediated differentially by subcortical and cortical phenomenological processes of the temporal (limbic) lobes". Perceptual and motor skills 76 (1): 247–51. PMID 8451133. 
  19. ^ Persinger MA, MA (1996). "Feelings of past lives as expected perturbations within the neurocognitive processes that generate the sense of self: contributions from limbic lability and vectorial hemisphericity". Perceptual and Motor Skills 83 (3, pt 2): 1107–21. PMID 9017718. 
  20. ^ Persinger, M A (1992). "Enhanced incidence of "the sensed presence" in people who have learned to meditate: support for the right hemispheric intrusion hypothesis". Perceptual and motor skills 75 (3 Pt 2): 1308–10. doi:10.2466/PMS.75.8.1308-1310. PMID 1484802. 
  21. ^ a b Persinger, M A; Tiller, S G; Koren, S A (2000). "Experimental simulation of a haunt experience and elicitation of paroxysmal electroencephalographic activity by transcerebral complex magnetic fields: induction of a synthetic "ghost"?". Perceptual and motor skills 90 (2): 659–74. doi:10.2466/PMS.90.2.659-674. PMID 10833767. 
  22. ^ a b Persinger MA, MA; Makarec K., K (1992). "The feeling of a presence and verbal meaningfulness in context of temporal lobe function: factor analytic verification of the muses?". Brain and Cognition 20 (2): 217–26. doi:10.1016/0278-2626(92)90016-F. PMID 1449754. 
  23. ^ Persinger, M A (1991). "Religious and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function: a general hypothesis". Perceptual and motor skills 57 (3 Pt 2): 1255–62. doi:10.2466/pms.1983.57.3f.1255. PMID 6664802. 
  24. ^ Booth, J. N.; Koren, S. A.; Persinger, M. A. (2008). "Increased Theta Activity in Quantitative Electroencephalographic (QEEG) Measurements During Exposure to Complex Weak Magnetic Fields". Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 27 (4): 426–36. doi:10.1080/15368370802493719. PMID 19037792. 
  25. ^ Tsang, E. W.; Koren, S. A.; Persinger, M. A. (2004). "Power increases within the gamma range over the frontal and occipital regions during acute exposures to cerebrally counterclockwise rotating magnetic fields with specific derivatives of change". International Journal of Neuroscience 114 (9): 1183–93. doi:10.1080/00207450490475643. PMID 15370182. 
  26. ^ Healey, F; Persinger, MA; Koren, SA. (1996). "Enhanced hypnotic suggestibility following application of burst-firing magnetic fields over the right temporoparietal lobes: a replication". International Journal of Neuroscience 3-4 (3): 201–7. PMID 9003980. 
  27. ^ Persinger MA, MA (1997). "Metaphors for the effects of weak, sequentially complex magnetic fields". Perceptual and Motor Skills 85 (1): 204–6. doi:10.2466/PMS.85.5.204-206. PMID 9293578. 
  28. ^ a b c d e Persinger, M A (2001). "The neuropsychiatry of paranormal experiences". The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences 13 (4): 515–24. doi:10.1176/appi.neuropsych.13.4.515. PMID 11748322. 
  29. ^ Persinger, M A (1999). "Increased emergence of alpha activity over the left but not the right temporal lobe within a dark acoustic chamber: differential response of the left but not the right hemisphere to transcerebral magnetic fields". International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology 34 (2): 163–9. doi:10.1016/S0167-8760(99)00069-0. PMID 10576400. 
  30. ^ Booth, J N; Koren, S A; Persinger, M A (2005). "Increased feelings of the sensed presence and increased geomagnetic activity at the time of the experience during exposures to transcerebral weak complex magnetic fields". The International journal of neuroscience 115 (7): 1053–79. doi:10.1080/00207450590901521. PMID 16051550. 
  31. ^ Churchill, D R; Persinger, M A; Thomas, A W (1994). "Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXVII. Increased geomagnetic activity and decreased pleasantness of spontaneous narratives for percipients but not agents". Perceptual and motor skills 79 (1 Pt 2): 387–92. PMID 7808872. 
  32. ^ Richards, P M; Koren, S A; Persinger, M A (1992). "Experimental stimulation by burst-firing weak magnetic fields over the right temporal lobe may facilitate apprehension in women". Perceptual and motor skills 75 (2): 667–70. doi:10.2466/PMS.75.5.667-670. PMID 1408634. 
  33. ^ Persinger, Michael A (1987). Neuropsychological Bases of God Beliefs. Praeger. ISBN 0275926486. 
  34. ^ Persinger, M A (1992). "Right hemisphericity, low self-esteem, and unusual experiences: a response to Vingiano". Perceptual and motor skills 75 (2): 568–70. doi:10.2466/PMS.75.5.568-570. PMID 1408622. 
  35. ^ Baker-Price, L A; Persinger, M A (1996). "Weak, but complex pulsed magnetic fields may reduce depression following traumatic brain injury". Perceptual and motor skills 83 (2): 491–8. PMID 8902023. 
  36. ^ Baker-Price, Laura; Persinger, M A (2003). "Intermittent burst-firing weak (1 microTesla) magnetic fields reduce psychometric depression in patients who sustained closed head injuries: a replication and electroencephalographic validation". Perceptual and motor skills 96 (3 Pt 1): 965–74. doi:10.2466/PMS.96.3.965-974. PMID 12831278. 
  37. ^ Tsang, Eric W; Koren, Stanley A; Persinger, Michael A (2009). "Specific patterns of weak (1 microTesla) transcerebral complex magnetic fields differentially affect depression, fatigue, and confusion in normal volunteers". Electromagnetic biology and medicine 28 (4): 365–73. doi:10.3109/15368370903206630. PMID 20017627. 
  38. ^ "Email between Persinger and Granqvist November 2004". http://www.laurentian.ca/Laurentian/Home/Departments/Behavioural+Neuroscience/Correspondence/Email+1.htm?Laurentian_Lang=en-CA. 
  39. ^ "response to Granqvist". http://www.laurentian.ca/Laurentian/Home/Departments/Behavioural+Neuroscience/Correspondence/Persinger+Response.htm. 
  40. ^ Video footage, see 3:04-7 and 3:32-43
  41. ^ Online video excerpt, see 2:00 to 3:26
  42. ^ BBC Article
  43. ^ Jack Hitt (Nov 1999). "This Is Your Brain on God". 7. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.11/persinger.html. 
  44. ^ Hughes, JR (2005), "Did all those famous people really have epilepsy?", Epilepsy & Behavior 6 (2): 115–139, doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2004.11.011, PMID 15710295 
  45. ^ Persinger, MA (1983). "Religious and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function: a general hypothesis". Perceptual and motor skills 57 (3 Pt 2): 1255–62. doi:10.2466/pms.1983.57.3f.1255. PMID 6664802. 
  46. ^ Persinger, MA (1993). "Paranormal and religious beliefs may be mediated differentially by subcortical and cortical phenomenological processes of the temporal (limbic) lobes". Perceptual and motor skills 76 (1): 247–51. PMID 8451133. 
  47. ^ French, CC., Haque, U., Bunton-Stasyshyn, R., Davis, R. (2009). "The "Haunt" project: An attempt to build a "haunted" room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound". Cortex 45 (5): 619–629. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2007.10.011. PMID 18635163. 
  48. ^ Baker-Price, LA; Persinger, MA (1996). "Weak, but complex pulsed magnetic fields may reduce depression following traumatic brain injury". Perceptual and motor skills 83 (2): 491–8. PMID 8902023. 
  49. ^ Auvichayapat, P; Auvichayapat, N (2009). "Basic principle of transcranial magnetic stimulation". Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand 92 (11): 1560–6. PMID 19938752. 
  50. ^ Meli, Salvatore C.; Persinger, Michael A. (2009). "Red Light Facilitates the Sensed Presence Elicited by Application of Weak, Burst-Firing Magnetic Fields Over the Temporal Lobes". International Journal of Neuroscience 119 (1): 68–75. doi:10.1080/00207450802507689. PMID 19116832. 

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