Date: March 19, 2023
Author: Manish Verma
Editor: Dr. Jitendra Kumar Sinha
There’s something inexplicably captivating about the idea of the paranormal – a world beyond our understanding where mysterious forces roam free. Yet, recent research has delved into the intriguing cognitive processes that underlie these beliefs. According to studies, individuals who believe in the paranormal may experience reduced inhibitory control. This means that those who are more inclined to accept unexplained phenomena may find it harder to filter out irrelevant information and control their thoughts and actions. But that’s not all – the study also revealed a decrease in brainwave activity in the alpha, beta, and gamma bands of people with paranormal beliefs. These bands are responsible for attention, arousal, and perception, and their reduction suggests that believers may have altered cognitive processes that make them more receptive to unexplained experiences. The revelations are captivating because they illuminate the cognitive and neural mechanisms that form the foundation of paranormal beliefs. It’s important to note that these findings do not invalidate paranormal beliefs – rather, they provide insight into the cognitive processes that influence them. Regardless of where you stand on the topic, the mysteries of the human mind and the world around us are always worth exploring. Who knows what other secrets and wonders we’ll uncover as we continue our journey?
Paranormal beliefs are the mystical manifestations of the human mind, encompassing an array of beliefs, entities, practices, and processes that defy the constraints of scientific principles. These may range from age-old religious practices to the modern-day interpretations of telekinesis, superstition, witchcraft, spiritualism, magical thinking, extrasensory perception, and precognition.
Researchers propose that individuals who hold paranormal beliefs exhibit cognitive deficits, which is supported by empirical evidence showing deficiencies in various cognitive functions, such as inhibitory control, critical thinking, probability judgment, working memory, inattention blindness, reasoning skills, imagination, cognitive and belief biases. While cognitive biases are common in human thinking, some individuals, like those who hold paranormal beliefs, may be more susceptible to biased thinking patterns. Such biases can lead to false attitudes, beliefs, and tendencies that can impact decision-making, perception, and cognition. And the presence of correlated biases may contribute to the emergence of supernatural beliefs and intuitions in humans.
From a psychological standpoint, developing the ability to manage our prevailing biases and instinctive responses is inextricably linked to inhibitory control. This critical cognitive function helps individuals manage inappropriate behaviors and is considered a cornerstone of executive function. Nonetheless, studies have revealed that some people struggle to control their intuitive urges and are instead overtaken by a sense of the paranormal. This phenomenon is linked to poor inhibitory control, which can also lead to teleological biases and confusion in core knowledge. Studies have even revealed that those who believe in the paranormal tend to perform worse in tasks that require inhibitory control, such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. While neuroimaging studies have identified the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) as a key player in inhibitory control, there is a dearth of evidence when it comes to the neural shifts that occur in individuals who believe in the paranormal.
Existing research has demonstrated that individuals with poor inhibitory control exhibit reduced alpha, beta, and gamma band activities in specific brain regions, namely the left parietal/occipital lobe, the right superior temporal cortex, and the left/right temporal lobe, as compared to those with lower susceptibility. However, no prior investigation has explored EEG activities in paranormal believers during resting-state conditions, a population expected to have lower levels of inhibitory control.
In a recent study, Narmashiri and colleagues from the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran, investigated the issue at hand. The study involved a sample of 20 individuals (10 females and 10 males) with a mean age of 22.50 years, who were either believers or skeptics of paranormal phenomena. The researchers then utilized a triad of assessment tools, comprising of the Revised Paranormal Beliefs Scale (RPBS), Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), and the Go/No-Go Task, to gauge the degree of paranormal belief, proneness to cognitive failure, and behavioral indicator of inhibitory control.
The experiment comprised of two phases. In the first phase, participants (N=20) completed demographic questions, RPBS, and CFQ questionnaires. The second phase involved an in-laboratory component, conducted on a computer station within an electrically isolated EEG-cabin. EEG data was collected while participants stared at a blank screen for five minutes, followed by the completion of a Go/No-Go task. Manipulation and compliance checks were then conducted before debriefing and removing the headset.
FC – frontal cortex, β – beta band [Sourced from Narmashiri et al., 2023]
The study found that compared to skeptics, paranormal believers exhibited reduced beta power and poorer inhibitory control on No-Go trials. Paranormal believers also showed lower activation in the frontal lobe for absolute gamma power and absolute alpha power in the bilateral frontal lobe. From a cognitive neuroscience perspective, the gamma band activity decrease may indicate a neural malfunction in the frontal lobe, signifying impaired synchronous inhibition of pyramidal neurons and GABAergic neurotransmission.
Additionally, paranormal believers made more errors in Go and No-Go trials than skeptics. A mediation model analysis showed that beta2 frequency band activation in the frontal lobe mediated the relationship between paranormal belief and inhibitory control, but there was no significant direct effect of paranormal beliefs on inhibitory control. Although the combined frequency bands could explain 49% of the variance in paranormal beliefs, the model was not significant.
In conclusion, the present study indicates a correlation between paranormal belief and reduced power in the alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands, as well as reduced inhibitory control. These findings provide insight into the neural mechanisms that underlie the differences in inhibitory control between believers and skeptics of paranormal phenomena. However, further research with larger sample sizes and diverse ethnic groups is necessary to enhance our understanding of these correlations.
Keywords:
FC: Frontal Cortex; EEG: Electroencephalography; RPBS: Revised Paranormal Beliefs Scale
References:
- Narmashiri, Abdolvahed & Hatami, Javad & Khosrowabadi, Reza & Sohrabi, Ahmad. (2023). Paranormal believers show reduced resting EEG beta band oscillations and inhibitory control than skeptics. Scientific Reports. 13. 10.1038/s41598-023-30457-7.
- Narmashiri, A., Hatami, J., Khosrowabadi, R., & Sohrabi, A. (2022). Resting-State Electroencephalogram (EEG) Coherence Over Frontal Regions in Paranormal Beliefs. Basic and clinical neuroscience, 13(4), 573–584. https://doi.org/10.32598/bcn.2021.923.2
- Dean, C. E., Akhtar, S., Gale, T. M., Irvine, K., Grohmann, D., & Laws, K. R. (2022). Paranormal beliefs and cognitive function: A systematic review and assessment of study quality across four decades of research. PloS one, 17(5), e0267360. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267360
- Krummenacher, Peter & Mohr, Christine & Haker, Helene & Brugger, Peter. (2009). Dopamine, Paranormal Belief, and the Detection of Meaningful Stimuli. Journal of cognitive neuroscience. 22. 1670-81. 10.1162/jocn.2009.21313.