Paranormal belief and brain chemistry

[Muse]

This isn’t new but worth bearing in mind when trying to understand why people believe in ghosts and paranormal activity.

Why do some people believe in ghosts? How often have those claiming to have seen an apparition are told by others that its all in their head? Well those others may have been right.

Swiss neurologist, Peter Brugger, says that people who believe in the paranormal (ghosts, psychic activity) seem to have higher levels of the chemical dopamine in the brain – a neurotranmsitter associated with pleasure and addiction. Brugger believes that there is evidence to show that those with higher levels are more prone to find significance in coincidence and see recognisable features in random patterns or events – an characteristic known as apophenia.

L-Dopa was given to 20 believers and 20 skeptics. Under the its influence the skeptics exhibited a pronounced increase in their ability to see faces and recognisable images from random patterns while the believers appeared to have no significant increase in apophenia from the outset – suggesting that Dopamine may have no effect beyond a certain threshold level.

Both groups made more mistakes under the influence of the drug, but the sceptics became more likely to interpret scrambled words or faces as the real thing.

That suggests that paranormal thoughts may be associated with high levels of dopamine in the brain, and the L-dopa makes sceptics less sceptical. "Dopamine seems to help people see patterns," says Brugger.
The full article can be read here (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2589).

Looks like I was way down the queue when the dopamine was being given out then........ :D

[Dr B]

There is a problem with this work. It does not say whether the alterations in chemistry are a cause or effect of the belief and experience. Such imbalances do occur under other conditions like schizophrenia - but even under extreme dieting (according to some). Both are associated with odd perceptions.

Also, dopamine is usually inhibitory in nature. So one might think that an excess of it would actually mean the brain is more inhibited, rather than less inhibited. To get around this we must assume that the dopamine is impacting only on inhibitory neurons. If you inhibit and inhibitor, you get excitation. I suppose what I am saying is that - while interesting and one of many similar ideas - it is not as explicit as I would personally like it to be.

An important extension of brain chemistry accounts must be to explain why expeirences take the form that they do - as opposed other random possibiltiies. To say certain brains hallucinate more than others is fine - but why they produce certain types of experiences is not always clear - to do this we need to look to cognitive psychology and neuroscience and explore the role of attention, percpetion, memory and imagery (just my opinion of course).

Dr B

[median]

An important extension of brain chemistry accounts must be to explain why expeirences take the form that they do - as opposed other random possibiltiies. To say certain brains hallucinate more than others is fine - but why they produce certain types of experiences is not always clear

Yes, that's something that's always puzzled me. :-\

Schizophrenic episodes have long been associated with people hearing voices from God or Satan. I wonder if other cultures have culturally defined episodes (Vishnu or Buddha)
Is there any evidence. I wonder to suggest that certain archetypes are present in apparition sightings ???

[vbloke]

I always liked the Bill Hicks take on messianic cult leaders


How come people always flip and think they're Jesus? Why not Buddha? Particularly in America, where more people resemble Buddha than Jesus. 'Ah'm BUDDHA!' 'You're Bubba!' 'Ah'm Buddha now..All I gotta do is change 3 letters on ma belt...'

[Dr B]

There are very real cultural effects on schizophrenic experiences, as there are on apparitional experiences, OBEs, NDEs, sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming etc....

There is a neurophysiological and cognitive core to them - but it gets biased and twisted by cultural expectations. Loads of really nice research on this stuff out there.... ;).

[tkingdoll]

The cultural bias is an interesting point. You don't hear of many people saying

"I killed him because I had voices in my head telling me to!"

"Well, whose is the voice?"

"I dunno, some guy with a pointy head and four arms"

"You mean Shiva?"

"Who? Never heard of him"

Although I don't hang out with many murderers, so perhaps that does happen.

[vbloke]

I always like pointing out to my brother (who's Hare Krishna), that a particular people's gods always bear a remarkable resemblance to that particular people (hence the very Indian looking Shiva, the Judaeo-christian Jesus (sometimes), the Arabic Allah, etc.) These gods seem very localised and race specific - maybe because that particular people thought them up and didn't know any better at the time...

[Mojo]

I always like pointing out to my brother (who's Hare Krishna), that a particular people's gods always bear a remarkable resemblance to that particular people


No, no, no!

It's particular people's DOGS!

[median]

;D ;D ;D

[Dr B]

Did you know that when children have NDEs and 'enter the light' they meet people that are not dead yet? Family members, friends, pets, cartoon characters..... 8)

Is meeting Homer Simpson evidence of an afterlife?

[vbloke]

Is meeting Homer Simpson evidence of an afterlife?

It's evidence of something...
;D

[Admin]

Did you know that when children have NDEs and 'enter the light' they meet people that are not dead yet? Family members, friends, pets, cartoon characters..... 8)


That kinda dents the survival hypothesis a little! ;D

That's really interesting. This is another area that I haven't really studied much.

[Dr B]

Indeed!!!!!

I also had a friend who had an OBE the night he moved house - when i interviewed him, the problem was his experience which was 'so real' was that it concerned him seeing himself sleeping in his old house and bedroom!!!

In other words - it was a completely fabrication - he was sleeping in a totally new place that never resembled the OBE content

More evidence for it being an imagery and memory phenomena

I have studied these experiences for years - i find them deeply fascinating - but it has nothing to do with the paranormal ;)

[Aardvark]

I suffer with both amnesia and dejavu.

I think I have forgotten that before ;D

[ali_baba]

dejavu fascinates me more than out body xperiences .i wish i have lots of dejavu,s in my xams ;D

[Dr B]

Brown has a recent book out on the Deja-vu experience. It's a basic, but useful introduction to the field from a sensible perspective.

[SKIRRID5]

As I understand it, our brain has a store of models which it uses to classify items in its sensory input. When folks have out-of-body experiences, do they not sometimes describe apparently floating above, looking down on themselves lying in bed or wherever? But how can the brain have a stored model of oneself seen from above? Unless you spent lots of time looking at mirrored ceilings (as some kinky ladies might!) you would never have seen an image of youself from above. Clearly this is even more true of an image of the top of your flippin' head.

[DrS]

I found THIS (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225731.300-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel.html)article on out of body/near death experiences a good read. I'm afraid that the apparent cultural conditioning, and clear cultural relevance, of the reported experiences is enough for me to be convinced that such experiences have their genesis in the brain of the person experiencing them.

[Mulder]

As I understand it, our brain has a store of models which it uses to classify items in its sensory input. When folks have out-of-body experiences, do they not sometimes describe apparently floating above, looking down on themselves lying in bed or wherever? But how can the brain have a stored model of oneself seen from above? Unless you spent lots of time looking at mirrored ceilings (as some kinky ladies might!) you would never have seen an image of youself from above. Clearly this is even more true of an image of the top of your flippin' head.

When you dream you can 'see' things you've never witnessed while awake. The brain can put together a scene of 'you' lying on a bed but if you were able to examine the details it is likely some would be wrong. It might well get your face right (from regular mirror examinations) but your 'body' may just be an approximation. Nevertheless, in the dream state you will 'know' that it is you and won't be hypercritical.