Spirit possession in Oman falls into two categories: intermittent and transitory dissociative phenomena. Among 84 participants (mean age 34, 56% female, 35% with trauma history), those with intermittent possession showed greater impairment on tests of executive functioning, including verbal fluency and the Trail Making Test, compared to the transitory group. The pathogenic possession subtype independently predicted worse performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Tower of London Test. The findings suggest that the typology of spirit possession differs on indices of executive function, with intermittent possession linked to deficits, laying groundwork for further neuropsychological study.
Spiritual meditative practices from the Islamic tradition, such as dhikr and Quran recitation, have historically demonstrated efficacy as treatments for addiction and anxiety. While rigorous empirical research in epigenomics and neuroscience has confirmed that religious and spiritual experiences impact psychology and physiology, Islamic practices have received less scientific attention compared to traditions like mindfulness. A millennium and a half of historical data supports their use as psychotherapy, and they show potential for integration into modern mental health treatments for people of all faiths. Listening to Quranic recitation and forms of dhikr therapy are noted for ease of administration and uniformly positive results, though more empirical studies are needed to translate them into modern complementary and alternative medicine.