Wahbeh Helané, Cannard Cedric, Okonsky Jennifer, Delorme Arnaud
Research, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Petaluma, California, 94954, USA.
Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland , OR, 97239, USA.
F1000Res. 2019 Jan 17;8:67. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.17157.2. eCollection 2019.
Numerous world cultures believe channeling provides genuine information, and channeling rituals in various forms are regularly conducted in both religious and non-religious contexts. Little is known about the physiological correlates of the subjective experience of channeling. We conducted a prospective within-subject design study with 13 healthy adult trance channels. Participants alternated between 5-minute blocks of channeling and no-channeling three times while electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), galvanic skin response (GSR), and respiration were collected on two separate days. Voice recordings of the same story read in channeling and no-channeling states were also analyzed. The pre-laboratory survey data about demographics, perception of the source, purpose and utility of channeled information reflected previous reports. Most participants were aware of their experience (rather than in a full trance) and had varying levels of perceived incorporation (i.e. control of their body). Voice analysis showed an increase in voice arousal and power (dB/Hz) differences in the 125 Hz bins between 0 and 625 Hz, and 3625 and 3875 Hz when reading during the channeling state versus control. Despite subjective perceptions of distinctly different states, no substantive differences were seen in EEG frequency power, ECG measures, GSR and respiration. Voice parameters were different between channeling and no-channeling states using rigorous controlled methods, but other physiology measure collected were not. Considering the subjective and phenomenological differences observed, future studies should include other measures such as EEG connectivity analyses, fMRI and biomarkers.
许多世界文化都认为通灵能提供真实信息，各种形式的通灵仪式在宗教和非宗教背景下都有定期举行。关于通灵主观体验的生理关联知之甚少。我们对13名健康的成年通灵者进行了一项前瞻性的自身对照设计研究。参与者在通灵5分钟时段和非通灵5分钟时段之间交替三次，同时在两天内分别收集脑电图（EEG）、心电图（ECG）、皮肤电反应（GSR）和呼吸数据。还对在通灵状态和非通灵状态下朗读同一故事的语音记录进行了分析。实验室前关于人口统计学、对通灵信息来源的认知、目的和效用的调查数据反映了先前的报告。大多数参与者意识到自己的体验（而非处于完全恍惚状态），且有不同程度的感知融合（即对身体的控制）。语音分析显示，在通灵状态下朗读与对照时，0至625赫兹以及3625至3875赫兹之间125赫兹频段的语音唤醒和功率（分贝/赫兹）差异有所增加。尽管主观感觉状态明显不同，但在脑电图频率功率、心电图测量、皮肤电反应和呼吸方面未发现实质性差异。使用严格的对照方法时，通灵状态和非通灵状态之间的语音参数存在差异，但所收集的其他生理测量指标并无差异。考虑到所观察到的主观和现象学差异，未来的研究应包括其他测量方法，如脑电图连通性分析、功能磁共振成像和生物标志物。
