While the recent experiments with the Carmelite nuns have been unable to identify a definitive GOD spot in the brain, it seems that the pre-surgery electrical stimulation of the brain of an epileptic patient has shed light on a potential ghost spot.
When the Temporo-pareital junction (TPJ) was stimulated, the woman felt the presence of a shadow behind her that was taking the same posture as herself.
The woman described the shadow person as young, silent, and mirroring her position as she lay on her back. “He is behind me, almost at my body, but I do not feel it,” she said, according to the doctors.
Next, the researchers stimulated the same spot in the woman’s brain as she sat up with her arms wrapped around her knees.
Again, the woman sensed the shadow presence. This time she said the man was sitting behind her and had his arms around her.
Lastly, the woman sat up, holding a card in her right hand, for another brain test that involved stimulating the same brain area. She once more sensed the shadow person.
“He wants to take the card. He doesn’t want me to read,” the woman reportedly said.
This has interesting implications for Schizophrenia research and the Nature article does hint at that. Specifically, abnormal brain activity in the TPJ may give rise to a feeling of a shadowy person following the schizophrenic subject always. This sense of being watched may give rise to a host of related syndromes. This may give rise to a sense of paranoia, delusions of persecution , delusions of alien control (when hugging your knee it may seem the shadow was using its hand to force yours or the prior act of bending forward by the shadow may be implicated as causing oneself to bend forward) and other delusions like the alien hand syndrome. Interesting to note that the epileptic woman in question assigns bad motives to the shadow. (“he doesn’t want me to take the card”)
It would be interesting to investigate, what abnormalities, if any, in the TPJ are present in the Schizophrenics subjects.
Hat tip: Omni Brain