"Seat of the soul"? The structure and function of the pineal gland in women with alleged spirit possession-Results of two experimental studies.
Brain Behav
; 10(7): e01693, 2020 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32506697
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Cultural traditions attribute to pineal gland an important role for spiritual experiences. Mediumship and spirit possession are cultural phenomena found worldwide which have been described as having dissociative and psychotic-like characteristics, but with nonpathological aspects. A sympathetic activation pattern in response to spirit possession has been reported in some studies, but empirical data on pineal gland is scarce in this context.METHODS:
We aimed to investigate pineal gland and pituitary volumes, as well as urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels in 16 alleged mediums (Medium Group-MG) compared with 16 healthy nonmedium controls (Control Group) (Experiment 1). Furthermore, we aimed to evaluate urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and stress reactivity in GM (n = 10) under different physiological conditions (Experiment 2).RESULTS:
In Experiment 1, MG presented higher scores of anomalous experiences, but there were no between-group differences regarding mental health or subjective sleep quality. Similar pineal gland and pituitary volumes were observed between groups. There were no between-group differences in urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin collected under equivalent baseline conditions. In Experiment 2, the rise of anxiety and heart rate in response to mediumistic experience was intermediate between a nonstressful control task (reading) and a stressful control task (Trier Social Stress Test-TSST). No significant differences were observed in 6-sulfatoxymelatonin urinary levels between the three conditions. The pattern of stress reactivity during the TSST was normal, but with an attenuated salivary cortisol response.CONCLUSION:
The normal neuroimaging and stress reactivity findings in MG contrast with the abnormal results usually observed in subjects with psychotic and dissociative disorders.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Glândula Pineal
/
Possessão Espiritual
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article