Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak complex magnetic fields
Neuroscience Letters December 10, 2004 Pehr Granqvist, Mats Fredrikson, Patrik Unge et al. 189 citations
A double-blind experiment with 89 participants found no evidence that weak, complex waveform transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) fields evoke a sensed presence of a sentient being, mystical experiences, or other somatosensory effects. The magnetic fields tested were about one million times weaker than ordinary TMS fields. Although earlier claims reported such effects in up to 80% of the general population, this replication found no effects in the entire group or in individuals high in suggestibility. Personality characteristics—absorption, signs of abnormal temporal lobe activity, and a new-age lifestyle orientation—significantly predicted outcomes, suggesting that suggestibility, not the magnetic fields, may account for previously reported effects. These results strongly question earlier claims.