Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis

1983 ◽  
Vol 57 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1255-1262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Persinger
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
General Hypothesis ◽  
Intrinsic Reward ◽  
Reinforcement History ◽  
Body Experiences ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Specific Stimulation ◽  
Species Specific

Mystical and religious experiences are hypothesized to be evoked by transient, electrical microseizures within deep structures of the temporal lobe. Although experiential details are affected by context and reinforcement history, basic themes reflect the inclusion of different amygdaloid-hippocampal structures and adjacent cortices. Whereas the unusual electrical coherence allows access to infantile memories of parents, a source of god expectations, specific stimulation evokes out-of-body experiences, space-time distortions, intense meaningfulness, and dreamy scenes. The species-specific similarities in temporal lobe properties enhance the homogeneity of cross-cultural experiences. They exist along a continuum that ranges from “early morning highs” to recurrent bouts of conversion and dominating religiosity. Predisposing factors include any biochemical or genetic factors that produce temporal lobe lability. A variety of precipitating stimuli provoke these experiences, but personal (life) crises and death bed conditions are optimal. These temporal lobe microseizures can be learned as responses to existential trauma because stimulation is of powerful intrinsic reward regions and reduction of death anxiety occurs. The implications of these transients as potent modifiers of human behavior are considered.

scholarly journals The effect of flooding on the exchange of the volatile C<sub>2</sub>-compounds ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetic acid between leaves of Amazonian floodplain tree species and the atmosphere

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1085-1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rottenberger ◽  
B. Kleiss ◽  
U. Kuhn ◽  
A. Wolf ◽  
M. T. F. Piedade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Proton Transfer Reaction ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Enzymatic Oxidation ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Transpiration Stream ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract. The effect of root inundation on the leaf emissions of ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetic acid in relation to assimilation and transpiration was investigated with 2–3 years old tree seedlings of four Amazonian floodplain species by applying dynamic cuvette systems under greenhouse conditions. Emissions were monitored over a period of several days of inundation using a combination of Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) and conventional techniques (HPLC, ion chromatography). Under non-flooded conditions, none of the species exhibited measurable emissions of any of the compounds, but rather low deposition of acetaldehyde and acetic acid was observed instead. Tree species specific variations in deposition velocities were largely due to variations in stomatal conductance. Flooding of the roots resulted in leaf emissions of ethanol and acetaldehyde by all species, while emissions of acetic acid were only observed from the species exhibiting the highest ethanol and acetaldehyde emission rates. All three compounds showed a similar diurnal emission profile, each displaying an emission burst in the morning, followed by a decline in the evening. This concurrent behavior supports the conclusion, that all three compounds emitted by the leaves are derived from ethanol produced in the roots by alcoholic fermentation, transported to the leaves with the transpiration stream and finally partly converted to acetaldehyde and acetic acid by enzymatic processes. Co-emissions and peaking in the early morning suggest that root ethanol, after transportation with the transpiration stream to the leaves and enzymatic oxidation to acetaldehyde and acetate, is the metabolic precursor for all compounds emitted, though we can not totally exclude other production pathways. Emission rates substantially varied among tree species, with maxima differing by up to two orders of magnitude (25–1700 nmol m−2 min−1 for ethanol and 5–500 nmol m−2 min−1 for acetaldehyde). Acetic acid emissions reached 12 nmol m−2 min−1. The observed differences in emission rates between the tree species are discussed with respect to their root adaptive strategies to tolerate long term flooding, providing an indirect line of evidence that the root ethanol production is a major factor determining the foliar emissions. Species which develop morphological root structures allowing for enhanced root aeration produced less ethanol and showed much lower emissions compared to species which lack gas transporting systems, and respond to flooding with substantially enhanced fermentation rates and a non-trivial loss of carbon to the atmosphere. The pronounced differences in the relative emissions of ethanol to acetaldehyde and acetic acid between the tree species indicate that not only the ethanol production in the roots but also the metabolic conversion in the leaf is an important factor determining the release of these compounds to the atmosphere.

scholarly journals Common Characteristics of Anomalous Perceptual Experiences

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 13-31
Author(s):  
Julia Sellers
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Healthy Population ◽  
Body Experiences ◽  
Near Death Experiences

This paper presents phenomenology of out- of-body experiences (OBEs) occurring spontaneously or pathologically triggered as well as other types of anomalous perceptual experiences such as near- death- experiences (NDEs), temporal lobe irregularities, and ictal autoscopic phenomena (IAP). The paper further presents a brief overview of some of the OBEs studied in both the healthy and pathological populations, as well as anomalous perceptual experiences, with features common to OBEs, in the healthy population, as well as, pathological population. KEY WORDS anomalous perceptual experiences, out-of-body experiences, near- death-experiences, ictal autoscopic phenomena.

What Is It Like To Be Dead?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Schlieter
Keyword(s):  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
Spiritual Orientation ◽  
Western Modernity ◽  
Generic Term ◽  
Body Experiences ◽  
Death Experience ◽  
Deathbed Visions ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Near Death Experiences

This book offers a modern genealogy of “near-death experiences,” outlining the important functions of these experiences in the religious field of Western modernity. Emerging as autobiographical narratives in the legacy of Christian deathbed visions, narratives of near-death experiences were used in Western religious metacultures (Christian, Esoteric, and Spiritualist–Occult) as substantial proof for the survival of death. In its historical part, the study demonstrates how certain features of near-death experiences, for example, the panoramic life review or autoscopic out-of-body-experiences, emerged in Occult and Esoteric circles in the 19th and 20th centuries, experimenting with astral projection, drugs, and “clairvoyant” states. It was only in the 1970s, however, that Raymond Moody, popularizing the generic term “near-death experience” that had been introduced by John C. Lilly, could declare the different features to be elements of a single phenomenon. Other factors that paved the way were discussions on “brain death,” coma, and the increase of hospitalized dying, the crisis of traditional religious institutions in the 1960s and early 1970s, and the claim of individual religious experiences. In its systematic part, the study discusses the religious relevance of these experiences for the experiencers themselves, but also for the growing audience of such testimonies. These functions encompass ontological, epistemic, intersubjective, and moral aspects. Most central is the reassurance that in modernity, religious experience is still possible, and that near-death experiences may initiate a new spiritual orientation in life. In addition, they are held to offer evidence for the transcultural validity of afterlife visions.

Fenugreek root exudates show species-specific stimulation of Orobanche seed germination

Weed Research ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
M FERNÁNDEZ-APARICIO ◽  
A ANDOLFI ◽  
A EVIDENTE ◽  
A PÉREZ-DE-LUQUE ◽  
D RUBIALES
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Root Exudates ◽  
Specific Stimulation ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Stimulation Of

Right Hemisphericity, Low Self-Esteem, and Unusual Experiences: A Response to Vingiano

1992 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 568-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Persinger
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Extreme Conditions ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
Mystical Experiences ◽  
The Relationship

Vingiano's (1992) challenge concerning the relationship between right hemisphericity, low self-esteem, mystical experiences, and religiosity can be clarified by the concept of vectorial hemisphericity. Ontogenetic intrusions of right-hemispheric processes into the left hemispheric sense of self should be experienced most frequently as an apprehensive “presence” that results in lower self-esteem. Because transient above-normal left-hemispheric activity enhances positive affect and the sense of self, concurrent right-hemispheric intrusions are experienced as mystical experiences. Religiosity would be the consequence of persistent above-normal left-temporofrontal activation that encourages the delusion. Hence, extreme conditions, such as left lateralized temporal-lobe epileptic foci, encourage both mystical and religious experiences.

scholarly journals The effect of flooding on the exchange of the volatile C<sub>2</sub>-compounds ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetic acid between leaves of Amazonian floodplain tree species and the atmosphere

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 463-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rottenberger ◽  
B. Kleiss ◽  
U. Kuhn ◽  
A. Wolf ◽  
M. T. F. Piedade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Proton Transfer Reaction ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Enzymatic Oxidation ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Transpiration Stream ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract. The effect of root inundation on the leaf emissions of ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetic acid was investigated with 2–3 years old tree seedlings of four Amazonian floodplain species by applying dynamic cuvette systems under greenhouse conditions. Emissions were monitored over a period of several days of inundation using a combination of Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) and conventional techniques (HPLC, ion chromatography). Under non-flooded conditions, none of the species exhibited significant emissions of any of the compounds. A slight deposition of acetaldehyde and acetic acid was mainly observed, instead. Tree species specific variations in deposition velocities were largely due to variations in stomatal conductance. Flooding of the roots resulted in leaf emissions of ethanol and acetaldehyde by all species, while emissions of acetic acid occurred only by the species exhibiting the highest ethanol and acetaldehyde emission rates. All three compounds showed a similar diurnal emission profile, each displaying an emission burst in the morning, followed by a decline in the evening. This concurrent behavior supports the conclusion, that all three compounds emitted by the leaves are derived from ethanol produced in the roots by alcoholic fermentation, transported to the leaves with the transpiration stream and finally partly converted to acetaldehyde and acetic acid by enzymatic processes. Co-emissions and peaking in the early morning confirmed that root ethanol, after transportation with the transpiration stream to the leaves and enzymatic oxidation to acetaldehyde and acetate, is the metabolic precursor for all compounds emitted. Emission rates substantially varied among tree species, with maxima differing by up to two orders of magnitude (3–200 nmol m−2 min−1 for ethanol and 5–500 nmol m−2 min−1 for acetaldehyde). Acetic acid emissions reached 12 nmol m−2 min−1. The observed differences in emission rates between the tree species are discussed with respect to their root adaptive strategies to tolerate long term flooding, providing an indirect line of evidence that the root ethanol production is a major factor determining the foliar emissions. Species which develop morphological root structures allowing for enhanced root aeration produced less ethanol and showed much lower emissions compared to species which lack gas transporting systems, and respond to flooding with substantially enhanced fermentation rates. The pronounced differences in the relative emissions of ethanol to acetaldehyde and acetic acid between the tree species indicate that not only the ethanol production in the roots but also the metabolic conversion in the leaf is an important factor determining the release of these compounds to the atmosphere.

An Observer-Specific, Full-Season, Strip-Map Method for Censusing Songbird Communities

The Auk ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 730-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Emlen
Keyword(s):  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Threshold Distance ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Simple Detection ◽  
Territory Holder ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract In this paper I describe and demonstrate a strip-map census method designed to provide a complete record of the composition and density of a temperate-zone breeding bird community through a period covering the peaks of breeding activity of all resident species and individuals. A route transecting the area of interest is laid out, flanked on each side by an unmarked strip of a width equal to the distance at which birds can be detected (the detection-threshold distance). All birds detected during uniform listening periods on frequent, closely scheduled, early morning traverses of the route are recorded with appropriate symbols at the moment of detection on simple line maps of the route. Because species differ in the distance at which their calls and songs can be heard and observers differ in their hearing acuity, each observer has an observer-specific strip width for each species. These strip widths are determined directly from the distribution of all detection points on the census maps at the end of the season. Multiplied by the length of the strip, they give the area of the strip for each species. The accumulations of detection-point clusters on summary maps for each species are interpreted as the territories of individual birds. Densities within the study area or segments of it are determined by dividing the number of equivalent territories (Σ wholes plus fractions) within the species-detection strip by the area of the strip. Song frequencies are determined for each individual territory holder by multiplying the proportion of listening periods during which the bird was heard by the proportion of that bird's territory that fell within the species' detectability strip. The method provides a continuous record, divisible into segments of any desired length, of the density, song activity, and distribution of individuals of each species through its breeding season. The detection-threshold distance and song-frequency values obtained can be used as species-specific conversion factors for translating simple detection counts to bird densities.

Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions

1993 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Persinger
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Activity ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Relative Activity ◽  
Cerebral Hemispheres ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
Religious Conversions ◽  
Body Experiences ◽  
The Right ◽  
Multiple Variants

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 experiential 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.

scholarly journals Isolated Hyperreligiosity in a Patient with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocio Garcia-Santibanez ◽  
Harini Sarva
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
Medication Noncompliance ◽  
History Of ◽  
Patients With Epilepsy

A 40-year-old man with history of temporal lobe epilepsy presented to the emergency department with hyperreligiosity after medication noncompliance. After medications were resumed, he returned to baseline. Many famous prophets are believed to have suffered epilepsy. Waxman and Geschwind described a group of traits in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy consisting of hyperreligiosity, hypergraphia, altered sexual behavior, aggressiveness, preoccupation with details, and circumstantiality. The incidence of religious experiences ranges from 0.3 to 3.1 percent in patients with epilepsy. Religious experiences can be ictal, interictal, or postictal. Treatment is aimed at the underlying seizure etiology.

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