Enhanced mind-matter interactions following rTMS induced frontal lobe inhibition

This study suggests that the left medial middle frontal region inhibits psi; however, the mechanisms underlying this inhibition remain unclear. The authors previously identified mental states associated with psi, such as mental immersion leading to a loss of self-awareness and awareness of immediate surroundings (Jahn & Dunne, 1987), as well as altered states like meditation (Honorton, 1977) and hypnosis (Honorton, 1977; Stanford & Stein, 1994), which are characterized by a reduction in self-awareness (Vaitl et al., 2005). Given that the medial middle frontal region plays a role in mediating self-awareness (Amodio & Frith, 2006; Morin, 2007, 2011), and reduced self-awareness may facilitate psi (Honorton, 1977; Jahn & Dunne, 1987; Stanford & Stein, 1994; Vaitl et al., 2005), the authors previously hypothesized that damage to this area might enhance psi through a reduction in self-awareness (Freedman et al., 2018). Furthermore, they proposed that in addition to diminished self-awareness, relatively good attention is required for psi effects to manifest (Freedman et al., 2003, 2018).

The authors suggest that the ability to focus attention may be a necessary condition for the emergence of psi effects. They note that reduced attention resulting from rTMS inhibition following right-sided stimulation could have disrupted the emergence of psi effects. Conversely, rTMS-induced lesions in the left medial middle frontal region might produce a combination of reduced self-awareness and preserved attention, a cognitive profile that may facilitate psi effects. The study emphasizes the need for further research to test this hypothesis.

As in the authors’ previous studies, this research used an experimental measure of psi involving mind-matter interactions categorized as micro-psychokinesis (micro-PK) (Williams, 2021). Micro-PK refers to effects on small-scale events, such as the output of a random number generator, which would otherwise produce random results in the absence of micro-PK influences (Cardeña, 2018). These effects are detectable only through statistical analysis (Varvoglis & Bancel, 2015). In this study, the specific task required participants to influence the output of a Random Event Generator (REG), which was represented by the movement of an arrow on a computer screen, directing it either to the right or the left.