| 1. |
- Granqvist, P, et al.
(författare)
-
Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak complex magnetic fields
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Neuroscience Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3940. ; 379:1, s. 1-6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with weak (micro Tesla) complex waveform fields have been claimed to evoke the sensed presence of a sentient being in up to 80% in the general population. These findings have had a questionable neurophysiological foundation as the fields are approximately six orders of magnitude weaker than ordinary TMS fields. Also, no independent replication has been reported. To replicate and extend previous findings, we performed a double-blind experiment (N = 89), with a sham-field control group. Personality characteristics indicating suggestibility (absorption, signs of abnormal temporal lobe activity, and a "new age"-life-style orientation) were used as predictors. Sensed presence, mystical, and other somatosensory experiences previously reported from the magnetic field stimulation were outcome measures. We found no evidence for any effects of the magnetic fields, neither in the entire group, nor in individuals high in suggestibility. Because the personality characteristics significantly predicted outcomes, suggestibility may account for previously reported effects. Our results strongly question the earlier claims of experiential effects of weak magnetic fields.
|
|
| 2. |
- Kastrati, Gránit, et al.
(författare)
-
Genetic influences on central and peripheral nervous system activity during fear conditioning.
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Translational Psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2158-3188. ; 12:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fear conditioning is an evolutionarily conserved type of learning serving as a model for the acquisition of situationally induced anxiety. Brain function supporting fear conditioning may be genetically influenced, which in part could explain genetic susceptibility for anxiety following stress exposure. Using a classical twin design and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we evaluated genetic influences (h2) on brain activity and standard autonomic measures during fear conditioning. We found an additive genetic influence on mean brain activation (h2 = 0.34) and autonomic responses (h2 = 0.24) during fear learning. The experiment also allowed estimation of the genetic influence on brain activation during safety learning (h2 = 0.55). The mean safety, but not fear, related brain activation was genetically correlated with autonomic responses. We conclude that fear and safety learning processes, both involved in anxiety development, are moderately genetically influenced as expressed both in the brain and the body.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
