He argued that all phenomena includingconsciousness,spiritual experiences, and "paranormal events" can be explained by universal physical mechanisms and can be verified usingthe scientific method.[1] Further, he has claimed that the structure and function of thebrain determine the boundaries of human perception of theuniverse, and that shared quantitative values connect local phenomena with fundamental properties of the cosmos.[20]
Persinger's work focuses on the commonalities that exist between the sciences, and aims to integrate fundamental concepts of various branches of science.[21] He organized theBehavioral Neuroscience Program atLaurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, integratingchemistry,biology, andpsychology.[1] Persinger has published hundreds of peer-reviewed academic journal articles.[19]
Most of Persinger's published articles involved with consciousness have focused on the persistence of experiences reported by individuals who displaycomplex partial epilepsy within the normal population of people who arecreative, subject to frequent paranormal experiences, or who have sustained amild impact of mechanical energy to the cerebrum.[22][23][24] One of his notable experiments, spanning about three decades, involved a helmet ("theGod Helmet"), whereby weak physiologically-patterned magnetic fields were applied across the temporal lobes of hundreds of volunteers. The research received wide media coverage[9][10][11] with high-profile visitors to Persinger's laboratory includingSusan Blackmore andRichard Dawkins reporting positive[17] and negative[12] results respectively.
Experiences often associated with mystical reports such asout-of-body-experiences,intrusive thoughts, and thesensed presence were reported by hundreds of volunteers over decades of studying the phenomenon, which were not associated with the subjects'suggestibility.[25][26][27][28] Subsequent theory andquantitative electroencephalographic measurements supported the contention that the sensed presence of a "sentient being" could be a normal brain-based prototype for god experiences or related mystical phenomena and was actually theleft hemispheric awareness of theright hemispheric equivalent to the left hemisphericsense of self.[29] Similar experiences were reported by people who had applied Todd Murphy's technology.[30] However, other researchers either could notreplicate or only partially replicated the experimental effects with variations of the helmet.[31][32][33][26] In 2014, Tinoco and colleagues[26] reported an independent replication of an experimental protocol which measured verbal behavior associated with field exposures using the helmet configuration.[34] In an earlier study by Richards and colleagues, semantic memory was similarly affected by applications of weak magnetic fields over the temporal lobes.[35]
Regarding Persinger's claims, the psychologistRichard Wiseman has written they have not been replicated and the "scientific jury is unconvinced".[13] The research has also been criticized by psychologist Craig Aaen-Stockdale, writing inThe Psychologist.[14] Other researchers have criticized Persinger for insufficientdouble-blinding and argued that there was no physiologically plausible mechanism by which his device could affect the brain.[15][36] Persinger responded that the researchers had an incorrect computer setup[37] and that many of his previous experiments were indeed carried out double-blind.[37] Both claims are disputed.[16]
One of Persinger's lifelong endeavors has been to establish a mechanism underlying geophysical-behavioral correlates using experimental simulations.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44]The Tectonic Strain Theory (TST) developed by Persinger and John S. Derr predicted thatluminous phenomena and associated physical effects were produced by manifestations of tectonic strain that often precede by weeks to monthsseismic events within the region.[45] Persinger argues that the labeling of these manifestations such asunidentified flying objects (UFOs) has changed over the centuries and reflects the characteristics of the culture despite a common mechanism.[46][47] The support for the theory was primarilycorrelational.[48][49][50][51] Persinger considered the temporal contiguity of reports of unidentified luminous phenomena preceding local seismicity due toinjections of fluids aquasi-experimental support for the hypothesis.[45] Alternative models, developed by Persinger and David Vares, were quantified for interaction between quantum values and specific magnitude earthquakes,global climate variations, interactions withpopulation densities, discrete energies as mediators of disease, and processes by which human cognition could be covertly affected bySchumann Resonances and geomagnetic activity.[52]
Persinger has stated that he studies parapsychological phenomena because "the ultimate subject matter of science is the unknown".[1] He believes that verifiable spontaneous and experimental types of parapsychological phenomena are physical and associated with non-local interactions between human brain activity and geophysical processes.[3] For example, he claimed that the moderate strength correlation between geomagnetic activity at the time of aprecognitive experience and what the geomagnetic activity would be two to three days before the event indicated that energetic antecedents before the event, not the event itself, was being discerned.[53] During the 1980s, Persinger stated that both experimental and spontaneous cases of "telepathy andclairvoyance ("remote viewing") were more likely when the global geomagnetic activity was lower than the days before or afterwards.[54] Measurement of the brain activity of "psychic" individuals such asIngo Swann[55] and Sean Harribance[56] revealed unusualelectrical brain patterns in the right hemisphere (parahippocampal region), increased photon emissions from the right cerebral hemisphere, and small decreases in the intensity of the geomagnetic field when the details of their experiences were most accurate.
In 2016, Persinger was controversially removed as the instructor of a first-year psychology course. Laurentian'sprovost objected to Persinger's having asked students to sign astatement of understanding that vulgar language might be used in the class. The statement included examples such as "the F-word, homophobic slurs and offensive slang for genitalia".
One of my techniques is to expose people to all types of different words . . . silly words, complex words, emotional words, profane words. Because they influence how you make decisions and how you think.[57]
The Laurentian University Faculty Association filed agrievance against the school for violating Persinger'sacademic freedom. Current and former students also protested the administration's decision.[58] The grievance was heard on October 30, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario and on November 6, 2019, a decision was rendered by Arbitrator Kevin Burkett that Dr. Persinger was improperly removed from teaching PSYC 1105 EL in December 2015. As a result of Dr. Persinger's grievance, "In the future, Laurentian University is required to engage in a consultative process which shall include full consideration of the Collective Agreement principles including academic freedom, health and safety of the University Community, the rights, responsibilities and duties of academics and the right to a full and proper investigation".
^Persinger, Michael A. (1983). "Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis".Perceptual and Motor Skills.57 (3_suppl):1255–1262.doi:10.2466/pms.1983.57.3f.1255.PMID6664802.S2CID486935.
^Persinger, Michael A. (Summer 2010). "10-20 Joules as a Neuromolecular Quantum in Medicinal Chemistry: An Alternative Approach to Myriad Molecular Pathways?".Current Medicinal Chemistry.17 (27):3094–3098.doi:10.2174/092986710791959701.PMID20629623.
^Persinger, Michael (2007). "A theory of neurophysics ad quantum neuroscience: implications for brain function and the limits of consciousness".Int. J. Neurosci.117 (2):117–157.doi:10.1080/00207450500535784.PMID17365106.S2CID27517078.
^Dotta, Blake (2011). "Photon emissions from human brain and cell culture exposed to distally rotating magnetic fields shared by separate light-stimulated brains and cells".Brain Research.1388:77–88.doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2011.03.001.PMID21396353.S2CID12565159.
^abGranqvist, P; Fredrikson, M; Unge, P; Hagenfeldt, A; Valind, S; Larhammar, D; Larsson, M (2005). "Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak complex magnetic fields".Neuroscience Letters.379 (1):1–6.doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2004.10.057.PMID15849873.S2CID24800593.
^abLarsson, M.; Larhammarb, D.; Fredrikson, M.; Granqvist, P. (2005), "Reply to M.A. Persinger and S. A. Koren's response to Granqvist et al. "Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak magnetic fields"",Neuroscience Letters,380 (3):348–350,doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2005.03.059,S2CID54348640
^Persinger, Michael (1987). "Temporal lobe epileptic signs and correlative behaviors displayed by normal populations".The Journal of General Psychology.114 (2):179–195.doi:10.1080/00221309.1987.9711068.PMID3585298.
^Baker-Price, Laura (2003). "Intermittent burst-firing weak (1 microtesla) magnetic fields reduce psychometric depression in patients who sustained closed head injuries: a replication and electroencephalographic validation".Perceptual and Motor Skills.96 (3):965–974.doi:10.2466/pms.2003.96.3.965.PMID12831278.S2CID30810729.
^Corradini, Paula (2014). "Spectral power, source localization and microstates to quantify chronic deficits from 'mild' closed head injury: Correlation with classic neuropsychological tests".Brain Injury.28 (10):1317–1327.doi:10.3109/02699052.2014.916819.PMID24841927.
^St.- Pierre, Linda S. (2009). "Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence is predicted by the specific patterns of the applied magnetic fields, not by suggestibility: re-analyses of 19 experiments".International Journal of Neuroscience.116 (9):1079–1096.doi:10.1080/00207450600808800.PMID16861170.S2CID21117361.
^Persinger, Michael (2003). "The sensed presence within experimental settings: implications for the male and female concept of self".The Journal of Psychology.137 (1):5–16.doi:10.1080/00223980309600595.PMID12661700.S2CID44618872.
^Booth, Nicholas (2009). "Discrete Shifts Within the Theta Band Between the Frontal and Parietal Regions of the Right Hemisphere and the Experiences of a Sensed Presence".Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.21 (3):279–283.doi:10.1176/jnp.2009.21.3.279.PMID19776307.
^Persinger, Michael A. (2002). "Experimental Facilitation of the Sensed Presence: Possible Intercalation Between the Hemispheres Induced by Complex Magnetic Fields".The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.190 (8):533–541.doi:10.1097/00005053-200208000-00006.PMID12193838.S2CID28221240.
^Tsang, E.W. (2009). "Electrophysiological and Quantitative Electroencephalographic Measurements After Treatment by Transcerebral Magnetic Fields Generated by Compact Disc Through a Computer Sound Card: The Shakti Treatment".International Journal of Neuroscience.114 (8):1013–1024.doi:10.1080/00207450490461323.PMID15527205.S2CID25096212.
^Andersen, M. (2014). "Mystical Experience in the Lab".Method & Theory in the Study of Religion.26 (3):217–245.doi:10.1163/15700682-12341323.
^Granqvist, P. (2005). "Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak complex magnetic fields".Neuroscience Letters.379 (1):1–6.doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2004.10.057.PMID15849873.S2CID24800593.
^Richards, Pauline M. (1993). "Modification of activation and evaluation properties of narratives by weak complex magnetic field patterns that simulate limbic burst firing".International Journal of Neuroscience.71 (1–4):71–85.doi:10.3109/00207459309000594.PMID8407157.
^Richards, Pauline (July 2009). "Modification of Semantic Memory in Normal Subjects by Application Across the Temporal Lobes of a Weak (1 Microt) Magnetic Field Structure that Promotes Long-Term Potentiation in Hippocampal Slices".Electro- and Magnetobiology.15 (2):141–148.doi:10.3109/15368379609009830.
^Craig Aaen-Stockdale (2012)."Neuroscience for the Soul".The Psychologist.25 (7):520–523.the magnetic fields generated by the God helmet are far too weak to penetrate the cranium and influence neurons within. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) uses field strengths of around 1.5 tesla in order to induce currents strong enough to depolarise neurons through the skull and cause them to fire. Persinger's apparatus, on the other hand has a strength ... 5000 times weaker than a typical fridge magnet. Granqvist argues that there is simply no way that this apparatus is having any meaningful effect on the brain, and I'm inclined to agree.
^abSt-Pierre, LS; Persinger, MA (2006). "Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence is predicted by the specific patterns of the applied magnetic fields, not by suggestibility: re-analyses of 19 experiments".International Journal of Neuroscience.116 (9):1079–96.doi:10.1080/00207450600808800.PMID16861170.S2CID21117361.
^Mulligan, Bryce (2012). "Experimental simulation of the effects of sudden increases in geomagnetic activity upon quantitative measures of human brain activity: Validation of correlational studies".Neuroscience Letters.516 (1):54–56.doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2012.03.054.PMID22484013.S2CID21411641.
^Michon, A.L. (1997). "Experimental simulation of the effects of increased geomagnetic activity upon nocturnal seizures in epileptic rats".Neuroscience Letters.224 (1):53–56.doi:10.1016/S0304-3940(97)13446-2.PMID9132690.S2CID769415.
^Persinger, Michael (June 1995). "Vestibular experiences of humans during brief periods of partial sensory deprivation are enhanced when daily geomagnetic activity exceeds 15-20 nT".Neuroscience Letters.194 (1–2):69–72.doi:10.1016/0304-3940(95)11729-g.PMID7478216.S2CID22416490.
^Persinger, Michael (1999). "Wars and increased solar-geomagnetic activity: Aggression or change in intraspecies dominance?".Perceptual and Motor Skills.88 (3 Pt 2):1351–1355.doi:10.2466/pms.1999.88.3c.1351.PMID10485122.S2CID23787565.
^Persinger, Michael (2001). "Geophysical variables and behavior: CIV. Power-frequency magnetic field transients (5 microtesla) and reports of haunt experiences within an electronically dense house".Perceptual and Motor Skills.92 (3):673–674.doi:10.2466/pms.2001.92.3.673.PMID11453191.S2CID8112539.
^Suess, L.A.H. (2001). "Geophysical variables and behavior: XCVI. "Experiences" attributed to christ and mary at marmora, ontario, canada may have been consequences of environmental electromagnetic stimulation: Implications for religious movements".Perceptual and Motor Skills.93 (2):435–450.doi:10.2466/pms.2001.93.2.435.PMID11769900.S2CID40199991.
^abPersinger, Michael A. (1990). "Geophysical Variables and Behavior: LXII. Temporal Coupling of UFO Reports and Seismic Energy Release within the Rio Grande Rift System: Discriminative Validity of the Tectonic Strain Theory".Perceptual and Motor Skills.71 (2):567–572.doi:10.2466/pms.1990.71.2.567.S2CID145552191.
^Persinger, Michael (1984). "Prediction of historical and contemporary luminosity (UFO) reports by seismic variables within Western Europe".Experientia.40 (7):676–681.doi:10.1007/BF01949720.S2CID35229558.
^Persinger, Michael (1984). "Geophysical variables and human behavior: XVIII. Expected perceptual characteristic and local distributions of close UFO reports".Perceptual and Motor Skills.58 (3):951–959.doi:10.2466/pms.1984.58.3.951.S2CID143453998.
^Persinger, Michael (1990). "The tectonic strain theory as an explanation for UFO phenomena: A non-technical review of the research, 1970-1990".Journal of UFO Studies.2:105–137.
^Persinger, Michael (1990). "Geophysical variables and behavior: LXII. Temporal coupling of UFO reports and seismic energy release within the rio grande rift system: Discriminative validity of the tectonic strain theory".Perceptual and Motor Skills.71 (6):567–572.doi:10.2466/pms.1990.71.2.567.
^Persinger, Michael (1993). "Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXIV. Man-made fluid injections into the crust and reports of luminous phenomena (UFO reports) - is the strain field an aseismically propagating hydrological pulse?".Perceptual and Motor Skills.77 (3_suppl):1059–1065.doi:10.2466/pms.1993.77.3f.1059.S2CID144625362.
^Persinger, Michael A. (1988). "Increased geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of bereavement hallucinations: Evidence for melatonin-mediated microseizuring in the temporal lobe?".Neuroscience Letters.88 (3):271–274.doi:10.1016/0304-3940(88)90222-4.PMID3386872.S2CID897987.
^Persinger, Michael A. (1985). "Geophysical Variables and Behavior: XXX. Intense Paranormal Experiences Occur during Days of Quiet, Global, Geomagnetic Activity".Perceptual and Motor Skills.61:320–322.doi:10.2466/pms.1985.61.1.320.S2CID144343681.
^Persinger, Michael A. (2002). "Remote Viewing with the Artist Ingo Swann: Neuropsychological Profile, Electroencephalographic Correlates, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Possible Mechanisms".Perceptual and Motor Skills.94 (3):927–949.doi:10.2466/pms.2002.94.3.927.PMID12081299.S2CID14168257.
