TITLE:
Validating New Technologies to Treat Depression, Pain and the Feeling of Sentient Beings: A Reply to “Neuroscience for the Soul”
AUTHORS:
Michael A. Persinger, Todd R. Murphy
KEYWORDS:
Sensed Presence, Physiologically Patterned Magnetic Fields, Temporal Lobes, Neurotheology, Religiosity, Spiritual Experiences, Hippocampal Formation, s-LORETA, Imaging, The God Helmet
JOURNAL NAME:
Neuroscience and Medicine,
Vol.7 No.1,
March
29,
2016
ABSTRACT: The primary assumption of Neuroscience is that all experiences are strongly correlated with or caused by the specifics of brain structures and their particular dynamics. The profound experiences attributed to the “sensed presence” and their cultural anthropomorphisms such as deities and gods are persistent reports in human populations that are frequently associated with permanent changes in behavior, reduced depression and alleviation of pain. The majority of traditional clinical observations and modern imaging techniques have emphasized the central role of right temporal lobe structures and their directly related networks. The experimental simulation of sensed presences which can result in attributions to spiritual, deity-based or mystical sources within the clinical laboratory by the application of physiologically-patterned magnetic fields across the temporal lobes through our God Helmet requires the same precision of technology that is essential for synthesizing molecular treatments for modifying anomalous behavior, depression and pain. Despite the clinical utility of these simulated conditions within Neuroscience and Medicine, misinformation concerning the bases and efficacy of this new technology persist. Here we present detailed technical clarifications and rebuttals to refute these misconceptions. A Hegelian approach to this delay of development and impedance provides a context through which the ultimate synthesis and application of this technology may be accommodated in the near future.