Event-Related Electroencephalographic Correlations Between Isolated Human Subjects
π Original study βπ Appears in:
Plain English Summary
What if two people's brains could sync up even when completely isolated from each other? This experiment put that question to a rigorous test. Thirteen pairs of volunteers had their brain waves (EEGs) recorded simultaneously. One person β the "sender" β watched a live video with visual stimuli that triggered measurable brain responses. The other β the "receiver" β sat in a double steel-walled, electromagnetically shielded chamber about 20 meters away, with zero sensory connection to their partner. The researchers then checked whether the receiver's brain activity showed any correlation with the sender's stimulus-evoked responses. It did β and the numbers are striking. The sender-receiver brain wave correlation came in at r = 0.20 with odds against chance of about 1 in 2,000. When they ran the same setup with just equipment and no humans, the correlation vanished, confirming this wasn't an electronic artifact. Three of the thirteen pairs individually hit statistical significance, which is far more than you'd expect by luck alone. Perhaps most compelling, when the sender's brain responded more strongly to a stimulus, the receiver's corresponding brain activity was also larger β a dose-response relationship that strengthens the case that something genuinely causal is happening. This stands as one of the most carefully controlled demonstrations in the "transferred potential" line of telepathy research.
Actual Paper Abstract
Objective: To examine electroencephalograms (EEG) in pairs of people to see if event-related potentials evoked in one person's brain are correlated with concurrent responses in the brain of a distant, isolated person. Design: Simultaneously record EEGs using independent physiologic monitoring systems. One person relaxes in a double steel-walled, electromagnetically and acoustically shielded room while a second, located in a dimly lit room 20 meters away, is stimulated at random times by the live video image of the first person. Subjects: Thirteen (13) pairs of volunteers. Eleven (11) pairs of adult friends and 2 motherβdaughter pairs. Outcome measures: Epochs of interest were the moments of stimulus onset and offset, 6 5 seconds, in both participants' EEGs. A positive correlation was postulated to appear between the ensemble variance of the stimulated subjects' EEGs versus an identical measure in the nonstimulated subjects. Control data using the same equipment and test conditions, but without humans present, was collected to check for equipment and analytical artifacts. Nonparametric bootstrap methods were used to assess statistical significance of the observed correlations. Results: The control test resulted in a correlation of r 5 20.03, p 5 0.61; the experimental test resulted in r 5 0.20, p 5 0.0005. Three (3) of the 13 pairs of participants showed independently significant correlations. Examination of the stimulated subjects' event-related potentials showed that the stronger their responses, the larger the corresponding responses in the nonstimulated subjects (p 5 0.0008). Conclusion: Under certain conditions, the EEG of a sensorially isolated human subject can become correlated with event-related potentials in a distant person's EEG. This suggests the presence of an unknown form of energetic or informational interaction.
Research Notes
Key evidence in the transferred-potential paradigm extending Grinberg-Zylberbaum with a novel live-video stimulus, triple-blind epoch timing, and equipment-only artifact controls. Speaks to Controversy #1 (telepathy) as one of the most rigorous EEG correlation demonstrations. The dose-response finding strengthens the causal interpretation.
Simultaneously recorded EEGs from 13 pairs of volunteers tested whether event-related potentials evoked in a visually stimulated sender would correlate with brain activity in a sensorially isolated receiver seated in a double steel-walled, electromagnetically shielded chamber 20 meters away. Bootstrap analysis of 622 epochs yielded a sender-receiver EEG correlation of r = 0.20, p = 0.0005, while equipment-only controls showed no artifact (r = -0.03, p = 0.61). Three of 13 pairs achieved independently significant correlations (binomial p = 0.02), and stronger sender ERPs predicted larger receiver responses (z = 3.15, p = 0.0008).
Links
Related Papers
Precursor
Cites
- Human Communication and the Electrophysiological Activity of the Brain β Grinberg-Zylberbaum, Jacobo (1992)
- Patterns of Interhemispheric Correlation During Human Communication β Grinberg-Zylberbaum, Jacobo (1987)
- Biological Utilisation of Quantum NonLocality β Josephson, Brian D (1991)
- Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding β Targ, Russell (1974)
Extended By
- Evidence for Correlations Between Distant Intentionality and Brain Function in Recipients: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis β Achterberg, J (2005)
- Searching for Neuronal Markers of Psi: A Summary of Three Studies Measuring Electrophysiology in Distant Participants β Hinterberger, T (2010)
Same Research Program
Companion
- Correlations between brain electrical activities of two spatially separated human subjects β Wackermann, JiΕΓ (2003)
- Evidence of Correlated Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signals Between Distant Human Brains β Standish, Leanna J (2003)
- Electroencephalographic Evidence of Correlated Event-Related Signals Between the Brains of Spatially and Sensory Isolated Human Subjects β Standish, Leanna J (2004)
- Correlations Between the EEGs of Two Spatially Separated Subjects β A Replication Study β Ambach, Wolfgang (2008)
- Replicable Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evidence of Correlated Brain Signals Between Physically and Sensory Isolated Subjects β Richards, Todd L (2005)
Also by these authors
New Year's Eve as a Case Study in Experimental Metaphysics: Exploring Global Consciousness in Random Physical Systems
Effects of Intentionally-Treated Water on Cell Migration of Human Glioblastoma Cells
Sentiment and Presentiment in Twitter: Do Trends in Collective Mood "Feel the Future"?
More in Telepathy
Telecommunication Telepathy: A Meta-Analysis
Rethinking Communication and Consciousness: Lessons from The Telepathy Tapes Podcast
Taking the Mindfield Literally: Discovering Minds by Assuming Competence Among Nonspeakers
Who's Calling? Evaluating the Accuracy of Guessing Who Is on the Phone
A Comparison of Four New Automated Telephone Telepathy Tests
π Cite this paper
Radin, Dean I (2004). Event-Related Electroencephalographic Correlations Between Isolated Human Subjects. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1089/107555304323062301
@article{radin_2004_event,
title = {Event-Related Electroencephalographic Correlations Between Isolated Human Subjects},
author = {Radin, Dean I},
year = {2004},
journal = {The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine},
doi = {10.1089/107555304323062301},
}