Extrasensory Perception Study Employs Neuroimaging

Psychologists have developed a new method to study extrasensory perception that, they contend, can resolve the century-old debate over its existence. According to the investigators, their study not only reveals a new method for studying such phenomena, but also provides the strongest evidence yet obtained against the existence of extrasensory perception (ESP).

The research was led by Dr. Samuel Moulton, a graduate student in the department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, USA) with Dr. Stephen Kosslyn, a professor of psychology at Harvard and their findings were published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. The scientists utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scanning to evaluate whether individuals have knowledge that cannot be explained through normal perceptual processing.

"If any ESP processes exist, then participants' brains should respond differently to ESP and non-ESP stimuli,” explained Dr. Moulton. "Instead, results showed that participants' brains responded identically to ESP and non-ESP stimuli, despite reacting strongly to differences in how emotional the stimuli were and showing subtle, stimulus-related effects.”

Almost half of the adults in the United States believe in the existence of ESP, which includes telepathy (direct knowledge of another individual's thoughts), clairvoyance (direct knowledge of remote events), and precognition (direct knowledge of the future). People typically report unexplained knowledge of a loved one's death or a telephone caller's identity, for example, and attribute this knowledge to paranormal mental processing.

To develop a better test of ESP, the investigators decided to develop a new method, which directly addressed the presumed source of ESP: specifically, the brain. They argue that because the brain enables perception and stores information--even events people do not consciously perceive or information they cannot consciously remember--it can offer a much more comprehensive test for ESP than self-report or behavior.

To examine whether or not ESP exists, Drs. Moulton and Kosslyn presented participants with two types of visual stimuli: ESP stimuli and non-ESP stimuli. These two types of stimuli were identical with one exception: ESP stimuli were not only presented visually, but also were presented telepathically, clairvoyantly, and precognitively to participants.

To present stimuli telepathically, the researchers showed the photographs to the participants' identical twin, relative, romantic partner, or friend, who was seated in another room. To present stimuli clairvoyantly, the researchers displayed the photographs on a distant computer screen. And to present stimuli precognitively, the researchers showed participants the photographs again in the future.

Does this conclusively prove that ESP does not exist? "No,” noted Dr. Moulton. "You cannot affirm the null hypothesis. But at the same time, some null results are stronger than others. This is the best evidence to date against the existence of ESP. Perhaps most important, this study offers scientists a new way to study ESP that avoids the pitfalls of past approaches.”


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