Jordan Graffman's vision lasted only a split second.
“My mom died about 15 years ago,” Graffman said. - A week after her death, at 5 o'clock in the morning I walked down the street to the bus, looked ahead and saw, as I thought, my mother. I looked around and the vision disappeared."
This instant flash in perception intrigued Graffman, who is a cognitive neuroscientist and director of the study of brain injury at the Chicago Rehabilitation Institute.
“It was my mystical experience,” Graffman said. "As a scientist who saw what he considered mystical, I decided to find out what happened to my brain."
Nowadays, Graffman and his colleagues have accurately determined that there are some processes in the brain that lead to such supernatural moments. Researchers have found that mystical experiences can occur when the brain completely removes inhibitions and opens the "doors of perception."
Meeting with infinity
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During mystical experiences, people feel a connection with a higher power and often describe receiving secret knowledge or revelations. Although people around the world report mystical experiences ranging from deaths to rapturous visions during meditation, these phenomena are still shrouded in mystery. Few neuroscientists can explain the processes taking place in the brain.
Previous research has identified two broad strands of theories that explain the origin of mystical experiences in the brain, called the "squeeze" and "stretch" theories.
The "contraction" theory claims that belief in God is the cause of mysticism and suggests that trauma can reduce mystical experiences, said study co-author Joseph Balbulia, a research fellow at Queen Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. On the contrary, the "stretch" theory states that suppression of inhibitory functions in the brain opens the way to mystical experiences. This topic is hotly debated, and we intend to continue the discussion."
Graffman and his colleagues have reason to believe that "stretch" theory may help shed light on mystical experiences.
In their new study, the researchers tested 116 Vietnam veterans who suffered from brain injuries and had mystical visions, and compared them to 32 combat veterans who did not have such injuries or neurological disorders. All veterans underwent psychological tests before and after the war.
“Veterans often talked about hearing the voice of God or seeing their family,” Graffman said. "Such mystical experiences were common."
The researchers interviewed patients and, using a special test, analyzed mystical experiences. The test asked questions about feelings of oneness and joy, as well as the meaning of transcending time and space. All the veterans participating in the study had a CT scan of the brain.
It was found that damage to the frontal and temporal lobes was associated with great mystical experiences. The frontal lobes of the brain, located in the forehead, are known to be associated with movement, problem solving, memory, language, and reasoning. The temporal lobes, located in the lower part of the brain, are associated with feelings, language and memory.
Further research showed that damage to a specific area of the brain known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex caused a significant increase in mysticism. It is this area of the brain, located in the frontal lobes of the brain, that is of key importance for the imposition of inhibitions.
“The frontal lobes are the most highly developed parts of the brain, and help guide and make sense of the perception we receive from the world,” Graffman said. "When the inhibitory functions of the frontal lobes are suppressed, the doors of perception can be opened and the possibilities for mystical experiences can be increased."
The "doors of perception" of the brain
Previously, only a few volunteers participated in such studies, and no one tested the participants before and after head injuries. The scientists said the new results helped them analyze the intellectual function of subjects before and after battles for the first time, and to conduct a study with so many volunteers.
"The findings show that activity in the temporal lobes can induce mystical experiences," the researchers said. - However, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex appears to play an important role in the interpretation and modification of these phenomena.
The researchers hypothesized that when the inhibitory functions of the brain are suppressed, people experience mystical experiences without any explanation, and then the brain agrees with the supernatural explanations.
“The more we understand the brain, the greater our fundamental advances and our ability to apply them in a clinical setting,” Graffman said in a statement.
Scientists have published the results of their research in the journal Neuropsychologia.
