Remedy’s Tribute
to Dr.Michael
Persinger, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario Canada
This
document has been prepared to overview some of the work of Laurentian
University’s Behavioural Neuroscience Group, organized by Dr Michael Persinger
in the early ’70s. What follows is background on Dr. Persinger and selected
items:
Sensed
Presences and Mystical States
Behavioural
Geomagnetic Correlates
Clinical
Neuropsychology (Acquired Brain Injury)
Tectonic Strain Hypothesis for Anomalous Luminous Events
Background of Dr.Michael Persinger
I was born 26 June 1945 in Jacksonville Florida. I was
reared primarily in Virginia, Maryland and Wisconsin. After attending Carroll
College (1963-1964), I was graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison
(1967). Psychology ("Psychochemistry") was selected as a major
because it was the interface between the social and physical sciences. I
obtained my M.A. (Physiological Psychology) from the University of Tennessee
and my Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba (1971). I have been employed as a
professor at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario Canada since 1971.
During this period I have published more than 200 technical articles in
referred journals and have written six books.
My primary philosophical goal is to discern the
commonalities that exist between the sciences and to integrate the fundamental
concepts. I assume that the human brain, its microstructure and intricate
activity are the source of all human knowledge. To that end I have emphasised
geophysics because it is a central focus for the physical sciences and
neuroscience (originally physiological psychology) because it is a central
focus for the emerging biosocial sciences. One of the major consequences of
this bilateral interest has been the pursuit and discovery of subtle
interactions between the geophysical/ meteorological environment and human
behaviour.
Because scientific explanations and attributions are
transient labels applied to the largely inferred and unseen shared sources of
variance within numerical data (or verbal responses that serve as nominal
data), I have pursued methodology and multivariate (statistical) approaches.
Magnetic fields were selected as a focus because they are one of the few
stimuli that evoke changes across all levels of scientific discourse. This
perspective was summarized in ELF and VLF Electromagnetic Field Effects (1974)
and Space-Time Transients and Unusual Events (1977). These approaches in
conjunction with the goal of integrating concepts have influenced my decision
to investigate interdisciplinary problems and to apply these skills both within
academic and practical settings.
Within academic settings, I organized the Behavioural
Neuroscience Program at Laurentian University. This program was one of the
first to integrate Chemistry, Biology and Psychology. The program was developed
because there is a subset of students with integrative capacity who are not
"A" students but who are extraordinary problem solvers who love to
learn. Within clinical settings, I became a Registered Psychologist, specializing
in Clinical Neuropsychology, in order to facilitate the integration of
neurology, neuropsychology and psychology and to develop quantitative methods
whose results could help facilitate the adaptation of people who have sustained
mild to moderate brain traumas. Within the commercial setting, we have pursued
the possibility that control of experience, from depression to memory, may be
simulated by transcerebral application of complex magnetic field patterns
associated with activity of either endogenous or exogenous ligands at the
synapses.
As a human being, I am concerned about the illusionary
explanations for human consciousness and the future of human existence.
Consequently after writing the Neuropsychological Base of God Beliefs (1987), I
began the systematic application of complex electromagnetic fields to discern
the patterns that will induce experiences (sensed presence) that are attributed
to the myriad of ego-alien intrusions which range from gods to aliens. The
research is not to demean anyone's religious/mystical experience but instead to
determine which portions of the brain or its electromagnetic patterns generate
the experience. Two thousand years of philosophy have taught us that attempting
to prove or disprove realities may never have discrete verbal (linguistic)
solutions because of the limitation of this measurement. The research has been
encouraged by the historical fact that most wars and group degradations are
coupled implicitly to god beliefs and to the presumption that those who do not
believe the same as the experient are somehow less human and hence expendable.
Although these egocentric propensities may have had adaptive significance,
their utility for the species' future may be questionable.
Because our work is interdisciplinary and may be
different from what others have done, I insist that the techniques and results
are published within the public forum (the scientific literature). This
procedure will hopefully decrease the probability that the technology or
knowledge will be employed only by a privileged few. Except for $10,000 given
to us in 1983 by a researcher (from the U.S. Navy) who was interested in
magnetic fields and brain activity, all of my work has been supported out of my
pocket primarily from my private practice. Laurentian University has been
consistently supportive by supplying space and infrastructure. We have been
fortunate that the topics of research our laboratory have preceded the
interests of the scientific social community by about 10 to 15 years.
Bioelectromagnetic Field Effects
Why Study Them?
All matter, including molecular aggregates, cellular
organizations, and whole organisms, displays magnetic properties. The
information, which controls the reactions of molecules, the actions of cells,
and the behaviours of organisms, is determined by the spatial and temporal
complexity of electromagnetic fields. We have found that the more we simulate
natural electromagnetic patterns displayed by living systems the less the
amount of energy is required to affect the organism, including its most complex
behaviours such as memory, learning and social interaction. Whereas the effects
of chemicals, including pharmacological agents (drugs), are determined by the
specific complexity of their spatial structures, the effects of electromagnetic
fields are determined by the complexity of their temporal structures.
Theoretically, we might simulate all of the effects of drugs as well as the
chemical pathways within biological systems by the direct application of
appropriate weak, complex magnetic fields.
What We Have Found
Temporal complexity and its subordinate spatial
heterogeneity (rather than homogeneity of intensity) are the keys to affecting
living systems. About fifteen years ago, when the personal computer became
easily available, Stan Koren generated columns of numbers between 1 and 257.
Values above 127 were positive polarity (up to +5V); those below 127 were
negative polarity (down to -5 V). The duration of the voltage associated with
each number can be programmed to between 1 msec to several tens of msec. The
numbers of values in each row have ranged from a few hundred to several tens of
thousands. We have applied mathematical, reiterative and chaotic algorithms as
well. This meant we could generate patterns of any complexity ranging from
those derived from digital records of neuronal activity to those produced by
the most complex mathematical formula. We then apply them through the brain or
the entire body.
In summary we have found that: 1) burst-firing
patterns produce reliable analgesia that is similar to 4 mg/kg of morphine, 2)
a theta-frequency pattern known to produce long-term potentiation, the
fundamental correlate of memory consolidation, can enhance or completely
disrupt learning, 3) a specific sequence designed to affect gene expression
produced specific long term behavioural and histological alterations in rats
exposed to this pattern during their prenatal development. One specific
pattern, designed to simulate continuous pulsations (pc1) with intensities
between 1 nT and 50 nT may be involved with sudden infant death in rats. Other
patterns when applied over the right hemisphere of the human brain can elicit
mystical experiences such as the sensed presence. One particular pattern, when
applied for 30 min once per week for three weeks, reduced depression in
patients who had sustained acquired brain injuries.
Sensed Presences and Mystical
States
Why Study Them?
Understanding the neurobehavioural correlates of the
sense of self is one of the last challenges for neuroscience. In general the
sense of self is involved with language processes traditionally associated with
the left hemisphere of the human brain. However we were interested in the
source of discovery: the neurocognitive processes of creativity. We had been
impressed by the many historical and cross-cultural examples of ordinary people
who accessed sophisticated knowledge well beyond their level of education or
intellect when the right hemisphere was likely to have been stimulated. To test
this association we experimentally simulated the condition. We applied specific
complex magnetic fields of less than 1 microTesla over the right hemisphere.
The most frequent result was the experience of the sense of a presence or of
another Sentient Being.
We have hypothesised that this sense of a presence is
the transient awareness of the right hemispheric equivalent to the left
hemispheric sense of self. We suspect that the general properties of this
"other" reflect right hemispheric functions that include a feeling of
extended space (beyond the self, infinity), widened time (eternity) and marked
emotion. Our data suggest that the sensed presence is the prototype for
experiences of gods, incubi, succubae, demons, and other
"supernatural" beings. Most cultures have words to describe a process
that is everywhere and forever. They usually call it God or some equivalent.
Whether or not the idea is valid or not (if God exists or does not exit) is not
the issue. What is important is that we have a technology that may allow the
identification of those portions of the brain and those activities of the brain
that generate the experience. Consequently the experimental study of these
phenomena may allow us a more precise understanding of their origins within the
brain and the stimuli, man-made and natural, that produce them.
The primary experimental method to study the
"presence" is to place the person in a simulated "cave", an
acoustic chamber, where they are blindfolded and sit in the dark for about 30
min. The person wears a helmet or a collection of solenoids arranged around the
head (like a crown) through which complex magnetic fields are generated. By
applying specific patterns of weak magnetic fields that imitate the brains own
activities, about 80% of the normal population report the experience of
"another". Only specific patterns produce the experience; a reversed
presentation of the pattern does not. People exposed to sham-field conditions
rarely report the experience.
What we have found
We have found that: 1) the verbal label (usually
supplied by the culture) the person places upon the experience strongly affects
how it is recalled even within a few seconds after the end of the experiment,
2) experiences along the left side are usually aversive while those associated
with the right side are more positive and may have "thoughts"
associated with them, 3) increased geomagnetic activity in association with
right hemispheric stimulation encourages the incidence of a sensed presence, 4)
when a person attempts to "focus" upon the sensed presence it appears
to become dynamic (to "move") since the act of focusing alters brain
activity and hence how the applied complex fields interact with the brain, 5)
an inordinate number of people who experience a sensed presence attribute them
to gods or deceased individuals, 6) about 7% of the population, particularly
males with enhanced temporal lobe lability and who attend a religious place
frequently), report that if god told them to kill they would in his name, and 7)
certain patterns of applied magnetic fields produce subjective experiences that
are sometimes considered "parapsychological" or
"paranormal". By applying a specific sequence of magnetic fields
through the brain of a person who had experienced a "haunt", we
generated the experience as well as paroxysmal electrical activity that
suggested a source deep within the right temporal lobe.
Behavioural
Geomagnetic Correlates
Why Study Them?
The cells of all living systems are immersed within
the earth's magnetic field. Life is likely to have evolved within and have been
guided by the intrinsic temporal variations within the geomagnetic field. Most
of their peak-to-peak intensities range between 1 picoTesla (one-trillionth of
a Tesla) to over 1000 nT (1 millionth of a Tesla) within frequencies between
0.001 Hz (1 mHz) and 100 Hz. The larger intensities, between 50 nT and 1000 nT,
involve slower variations. A component of this band is well within the major
spectrum of electroencephalographic activity of the human brain and looks very
similar to the classic shapes of "brain waves".
The complexities of these variations have not been
measured because of their immensity. However they have the potential to simulate
every known electromagnetic pattern that mediates the effects of the brain's
own neurotransmitters upon cell receptors and to imitate all of the
consequences of pharmacological agents (drugs). Many of these complex
geomagnetic patterns occur during or following geomagnetic storms whose yearly
frequency is in large part controlled by solar activity. Because the nearly
seven billion (almost identical) brains of human beings on this planet are
immersed in this field there may be emergent fields that under certain
conditions affect large populations. The effect would be analogous to applying
a magnetic field through billions of copper wires. Magnetic fields (tenors)
would emerge that would have the capacity to be affected by and to affect the
characteristics of the individual conductors (wires) that generated them.
What We Have Found
We have found moderately strong correlations between
the amount of daily global geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of epileptic
seizures, aggression, immunological responses, and ambulatory behaviour. Even
the propensity to report experiences about death and crisis of others is
associated with quiet periods of geomagnetic activity. Certain increments of
activity, which are likely to reflect different "complex patterns",
have been implicated in the occurrence of Sudden Infant Death and electrical
cardiac anomalies resulting in death in subpopulations of adults. A correlation
between two variables does not necessarily mean causation. Consequently we have
imitated specific geomagnetic patterns by the special application of a computer
technology. When we simulated these natural conditions in the laboratory by
applying experimentally generated magnetic fields within the 50 nT range
seizures in epileptic rats were elicited with the same incidence and latency as
those associated with increases in natural geomagnetic activity.
Why Study Them?
One of the great philosophical questions is "what
is real?" Stated alternatively, the question might be phrased "is
what we perceive really what is there in the space and time around us?"
The general answer is that what is "really out there" is determined
by the organization of the brain, the ultimate measurer of reality. Structure
dictates function and microstructure dictates microfunction. Consequently we
can only detect and be affected by stimuli that can be discerned by molecular
responses, and hence by aggregation, cellular and organ (brain) structure.
Without changing the organization of the brain in a manner that allows a "reconfiguration"
of functions we might never know if the reality we perceive is determined by
the brain or independent of it.
Limbic seizures induced in rats by lithium and pilocarpine result in ranges of
neuronal loss that involves more than 100 structures within the brain volume.
These focal, variable losses produce a neuromatrix. The pattern of this
"matrix" (that is the pattern of this neuronal loss) can be
experimentally manipulated by treating the rat with different compounds such as
acepromazine, ketamine, or prazosin, immediately after the onset of the
seizures. One of the theoretical possibilities of "reconfiguring" the
neuromatrix is the emergence of qualitatively new or novel behaviours. Single
lesions or gross damage, where all neurons are lost, does not have the spatial
complexity to allow this "reconfiguration".
What We Have Found
Rats in which ketamine was given after the induction
of lithium-pilocarpine seizures display similar amounts of damage throughout
the brain compared to those who received acepromazine. However the
ketamine-treated rats showed normal behaviours. They did not show the adverse
effects of aging and developed an unusual type of fat. This normality is
consistent with the concept that specific classes of neuroelectromagnetic patterns
generate all behaviours. As long as these neuroelectromagnetic patterns can be
supported by the brain's microstructure (which requires a large matrix of
"pin-point" foci or partial loss of neurons), the behaviours will be
displayed. These "ketamine" rats appear normal behaviourally but they
become sensitive to stimuli, such as weak (100 microTesla) magnetic fields,
that do not affect the normals.
Rats in which seizures were followed by acepromazine
exhibited: 1) complete abolishment of one of the most powerful mammalian
properties: maternal behaviour, 2) hypersexual even within groups of same-sexed
(males) animals, 3) marked aggression, 4) sensitivity to increased nocturnal
geomagnetic activity, 5) marked impairments for spatial learning, and, 6) spontaneous
seizures that can be synchronized and actually conditioned (learned)
by presentation of food before the scotophase (even when food is available ad
libitum) and precipitated by sudden geomagnetic activity.
Consciousness, like the sense of self, defines the
person. The electromagnetic basis of consciousness appears to involve cohesive
waves of electromagnetic fields, generated from the cortical manifold, that are
recreated ("refreshed") within the 40 Hz range. These quanta of
consciousness occur too quickly to be discerned within the range of what we
experience as "now" which is the ability to discriminate between
sequences separated by more than about 40 msec to 50 msec. There may be
different types or states of consciousness, such as dreaming, each of which
have different characteristics and properties. If consciousness is
"recreated" every 20 to 25 msec ("40 Hz") rather than
maintained as a continuous stream, then what happens between the end of one
increment and the beginning of the next?
This question generates several interesting questions.
Could information from outside of the brain be acquired during this
"infinite infinitesimal" interval? Could this information then be
incorporated into the stream of experience generated by the normal volleys of
sensory neurons? Could normal consciousness be considered a type of
"insulation" that prevents access from the myriad of stimuli that we
typically do not detect? If there are only a few algorithms of neuroelectromagnetic
patterns and what define the "individual" are random variations
(neuroelectrical chaos) around these fundamentals, would experimental
simulation of this complexity actually be the individual? Do these
electromagnetic patterns that define the individual induce changes within its
physical environment that allow its representation to remain (a type of memory)
when the brain deteriorates, in a manner analogous to a hologram or to an image
of an event upon a photograph?
What we have learned
We have found consciousness can be described as an
emergent property of the complex electromagnetic process generated from
predictable biochemical and biological processes. Although the terms soul and
mind may have been useful at one time to describe this process, they are no
longer required. They are more like the term "phlogiston" that was
employed to describe why things burned before modern chemistry emerged. When
there is no electrical current moving through the parts of a television, there
is no picture. When the specific electromagnetic patterns are not generated
within the brain structures there is no consciousness or awareness.
Some individuals with very different brain structures
show different electromagnetic correlates that are associated with their
ability to discern stimuli others cannot detect. Counter clockwise rotation of
weak magnetic fields around the skull at specific rates of change (derivatives)
can affect subjective time and allow the average person to experience many of
the altered states reported by practitioners of mystical traditions as well as
"paranormal" phenomena. The critical variables, like any chemical
reaction, are the complexity and specificity of the temporal parameters. One
component of consciousness may be "sequestered" within second or third
derivatives of very narrow bands of changes in frequency within the theta
range. Our calculations of resonance, based upon the power changes within
quantitative electroencephalographic measures, suggest that one electromagnetic
source of consciousness may actually exist within the 10 cm region outside of
and surrounding the cranium.
Clinical Neuropsychology (Acquired
Brain Injury)
Why study it?
Millions of people every year sustain a mechanical
impact to the skull or body that does not necessarily result in suspension of
consciousness. The source can range from a motor vehicle incident to an impact
from striking the top of the skull upon a cabinet door. The consequences depend
upon the nuances of the derivatives and vectors of forces that are generated through
brain space. Within the weeks to months that follow these injuries the
individual's personality changes. The person begins to exhibit the epileptic
spectrum disorder including reduced concentration, poorer memory, depression,
pain, and odd experiences. Sometimes the blood vessels within the brain are
affected. The most common system is the Anterior Cerebral Artery. Because it
supplies regions involved with communication between the two hemispheres and
regions of the brain involved with experience of pain and depression,
dysfunction in neurons associated with these areas generate behaviours that are
misclassified as "psychological".
The person may begin to experience a sensed presence
that is attributed to a recently deceased member of the family or to a cultural
icon. Frequently the person feels as if he or she is "going crazy".
Because these individuals often show normal CT scans and ordinary
electroencephalographic records and they did not display suspension of
consciousness, some medical personnel conclude there were no brain injuries.
The problems are simply "psychological". Yet the person is never the
same again and often cannot return to full productivity. In more than half of
these cases personal relationships deteriorate and separations or divorces
occur. The microstructure of the brain has been changed; the personality is
altered forever.
What we have found
We have found that these profound changes in
personality and capacity cannot be accurately detected by casual clinical
observation. Only quantitative, norm-referenced testing allows the resolution
to discern the changes. These individuals display accelerated "aging"
for cognitive tasks. Many of these individuals respond best to anticonvulsants
rather than to classic and SSRI-type antidepressants. The personal terror of
the sensed presences can be minimized by explaining the source of the
experiences (right hemispheric intrusions) and by neurocognitively
restructuring their explanations.
Experimental simulations of mechanical impacts to the
brain in rats have shown that neurons may shrink in size during the days to
weeks following the single injury. The small areas within which this
"shrinkage" occurs are very small and may be long distances from the
point of impact. They would not be discerned by the limited resolution of even
the most sophisticated MRIs and CTs. In some cases there are infiltrations of
mononuclear cells, associated with the immune system, throughout regions whose
functions are very similar to those reported as deficient by people diagnosed
with myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue).
Tectonic Strain Hypothesis for
Anomalous Luminous Events
Why Study Them?
Anomalous lights that display unusual colors and movements have been observed
for centuries. Every culture and historical period have employed different
labels to describe and to explain their origins. These labels have ranged from
demons to "UFOs"; explanations for their origins have ranged from
dragons to extraterrestrial crafts. Charles Fort was the first to associate
these "space-time transients" with earthquakes. About 30 years ago
John Derr and I realized these phenomena were natural geophysical processes,
similar to earthquake lights, that are associated with strain within the
earth's crust. We anticipated that quantitative mapping of their places and
times of occurrence might help forecast earthquakes. We did not realize that by
discovering a natural explanation for these phenomena technical organizations
would have another explanation for the appearance of these events upon their
surveillance equipment. This explanation would not require the assumptions of
either "aliens" or "new weapons" of an enemy.
What We Have Found
Quantitative multivariate analyses have indicated that
most unusual balls of light, which occur in temporal clusters over geological
regions, occur within weeks to months before an increased release of seismic
energy within the area. The typical strength of the correlation the numbers of
luminous phenomena and the amount of energy released is around 0.80 for optimal
temporal increments of analyses (3-month to 6-month intervals). When the
specific equations between UFO reports (the contemporary label for luminous
events) and earthquakes in the central U.S.A. between 1950 and 1980 were
applied to the 19th century (earthquakes were recorded then), there were
predictable peaks in the numbers of luminous events for specific years.
Although there were no reports of "UFOs" in the historical newspapers,
there were reports of "odd air ships" and "phantom
balloons". The massive "flap" of 1897 through several tens of
states in the southeastern U.S.A. was followed by one of the largest
earthquakes in the region.
Luminous phenomena occur within areas of strain load and
release such as near rivers, reservoirs and fault lines. Sudden or excessive
changes in water levels (and hence mass) are the most common predisposing
factor. The pressures required to generate these phenomena are within the range
created by human technology. For example the Derby, Colorado microquake swarm
produced by pumping millions of gallons of fluid per month into the upper crust
was associated with a "flap" of luminous phenomena that were labelled
as "UFOs". Spatial and temporal gradient analysis indicated that
luminous events slowly moved "away" from the source of injection. The
velocity of this potentially "aseismic" wave moved at about 100
km/month. If these waves are associated with movement of water then the
contaminants at the point of injection could be diffusing over hundreds of km
although the time period would require several months to years.
The luminous event itself appears to be a powerful
energetic source that generates powerful magnetic fields and electromagnetic
radiation over a large spectrum. When the energy is within the visible
wavelength, it can be seen. If the ball emerges from the ground radon residuals
are measurable. If the ball strikes the ground the essential components of the
upper crust, silicon, magnesium and sometimes iron materials can be found. The
electrical currents induced by these powerful fields are sufficient to affect
electronic circuits (lights, power grids, etc) and to directly stimulate the
human body. Because of the brain's electrical sensitivity, altered perceptions,
tingling sensations and "dream-like" states can be induced. If the
current induction is excessive, convulsions occur followed by unconsciousness,
posttraumatic amnesia, and reconstructive confabulation. In extreme cases death
from cardiac failure or frank carbonization could occur..
Keith and Marnie
Elliott’s “REMEDY” Site
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