Numinous-like symptoms in epilepsy and/or insular tumors: A hospital cohort study.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B January 22, 2026 Fredrik K Andersson, Bisrat Ezra, Kenney Roy Roodakker et al.
Seizure-related experiences with supernatural, religious, spiritual, mystical, or ecstatic features—termed 'numinous-like symptoms'—are not uncommon among epilepsy patients and those with insular tumors. In a survey of 200 epilepsy patients and 40 with resected insular tumors, 6.0% of epilepsy respondents and 8.7% of tumor respondents reported such symptoms. Interviews identified ecstatic seizures, out-of-body experiences, and sensed presence. Three sensed-presence patients had seizure origin in the right hemisphere. These phenomena are often underreported due to patient reluctance, but actively assessing them aids seizure evaluation and differential diagnosis. Neuroscientifically, ecstatic seizures and out-of-body experiences involve distinct nodes in self-processing networks, while sensed presence requires further analysis.