People who report intense religious experiences also show a range of behaviors linked to the temporal lobe, consistent with the hypothesis that such experiences arise from endogenous electrical stimulation in that brain region. Across two studies of first-year university students, those who reported religious experiences scored higher on questionnaire clusters containing temporal-lobe symptoms, regardless of church attendance in one study. They were also more likely to keep a diary and enjoy poetry. However, they did not score higher on clusters of mundane psychological or proprioceptive statements, odd sensations, or a modified MMPI Lie scale, indicating the effect is specific to temporal-lobe-related phenomena.
University students who meditated, primarily using Transcendental Meditation, reported more frequent experiences resembling complex partial epilepsy—such as vibrations, hearing their name called, paranormal phenomena, profound reactions to poetry or prose, and religious experiences—compared to non-meditators. Among meditators, longer practice correlated with more of these signs and a sensed presence, but not with control, olfactory, or perseverative experiences. These findings support the idea that practices promoting cognitive kindling can increase complex partial epileptic-like signs.