Complex partial epileptic signs as a continuum from normals to epileptics: Normative data and clinical populations

Abstract

Over a 10‐year period, a total of 447 men and 624 women between 18 and 61 years of age were administered an inventory whose items describe experiences that are similar to those evoked by electrical stimulation of the temporal lobes. Empirically determined factors contained experiences of sensory enhancement, affective‐dissociation, ego alien intrusions, and literary emphasis. Using this population as a reference, T scores for these clusters were calculated for special normal populations (poets, drama students, false pregnancies) and for clinical groups (post‐traumatic stress, anxiety depersonalization, exotic dissociations, and complex partial epilepsy). Whereas only mild elevations (50 < T < 65) in indicators of temporal lobe signs and symptoms were noted in the special groups, moderate (65 < T < 75) and severe (T > 79) elevations were noted in the clinical populations.

Stimulating the aberrant brain: Evidence for increased cortical hyperexcitability from a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) study of individuals predisposed to anomalous perceptions

“…It is important to note that although the factor is termed a temporal lobe one, in reality the experiences contained on it include a variety of visual and multisensory experiences which likely reflect aberrant processes from a variety of cortical and sub-cortical regions. These items reflect experiences that are commonly reported in pre-seizure auratype experiences by patients with occipital and temporal-lobe epilepsy and in patients undergoing direct electrical stimulation as part of surgery (Gloor, 1986;Gloor, Olivier, Quesney, Andermann, & Horowitz, 1982;Halgren et al, 1978;Penfield, 1955;Penfield & Perot, 1963) as well as those reported by the non-clinical population (Makarec & Persinger, 1987, 1990Persinger, 2001;Persinger & Makarec, 1986, 1993.…”

“…Furthermore, that excessive neural excitation can significantly impact on the phenomenological contents of ongoing conscious experience. Similar observations have been reported in the non-clinical population where elevated signs of neural dysfunction (in the form of brief paroxysmal activity) have been shown to be associated with the predisposition to report paranormal/spiritual experiences Makarec & Persinger, 1987, 1990Neppe, 1983;Persinger, 2001;Persinger & Koren, 2001;Persinger & Makarec, 1986, 1993. These findings lend support to the continuum hypothesis, where individuals can be placed along a dimension of neural instability/cortical hyperexcitability with the implication being that such factors are not the exclusive domain of pathological conditions and disorders.…”

Increased Feelings of the Sensed Presence and Increased Geomagnetic Activity at the Time of the Experience During Exposures to Transcerebral Weak Complex Magnetic Fields

“…The specific experience of a sensed presence has been associated with a history of more general experiences associated with increased activity within the temporal lobes (Persinger & Makarec, 1993), In the present study when the shared variance between the subjects' scores for general temporal lobe sensitivity, the sensed presence, and geomagnetic activity was first removed, the strength of the correlation between increased ambient geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of a sensed presence actually Increased. This enhancement suggests that processes controlling the association between increased geomagnetic activity and experiences of sensed presences within the experimental setting can be amplified once the intrinsic "noise" from individual differences in temporal lobe sensitivity, which might statistically generate these common experiences, is removed.…”

“…The data were obtained to discern the potential psychometric sources for the relationship between geomagnetic activity and the sensed presence. Each subject's scores for the Wilson-Barber Scale of Imaginings (Wilson & Barber, 1983), the Dissociative Experience Scale (Bernstein & Putnam, 1986), and the Temporal Lobe Sensitivity Scale (Persinger & Makarec, 1993) were employed in partial correlation analyses. The titles of the tests reflected their constructs: the capacity to fantasize or imagine, the incidence of dissociation (non-awareness of self activities) and temporal lobe sensitivity (the types of ictal and interictal experiences reported by individuals with diagnosis of complex partial epilepsy).…”

Neuromagnetic effects on Anomalous Cognitive Experiences: A Critical Appraisal of the Evidence for Induced Sensed-presence and Haunt-type Experiences

“…The likelihood of an interaction between the applied field and a neuronal response is increased if individuals have an increased degree of neuronal vulnerability (i.e., certain forms of epileptiform activity: Cook & Persinger, 2001;Makarec & Persinger, 1990, 1987Persinger & Makarec, 1993;Persinger & Koren, 2001b).…”