Mind-Matter Interactions and the Frontal Lobes of the Brain: A Novel Neurobiological Model of Psi Inhibition
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Plain English Summary
This is the ambitious sequel to a 2003 study, and it doubles down on a truly provocative idea: your frontal lobes might be a biological "psi filter" that blocks mind-over-matter abilities, and brain damage can lift that filter. A large team from major Toronto research hospitals tested two patients with frontal lobe damage on a mind-matter task using Princeton's random event generator. One patient had frontotemporal dementia (a condition that erodes the frontal lobes), and the other had a pocket of air compressing his left frontal lobe. Both patients significantly influenced the device when trying to push an arrow rightward, with effect sizes a jaw-dropping 4 to 15 times larger than normal participants. The effects appeared on the side opposite the brain damage, which mirrors how the brain typically controls behavior. Using MRI brain scans, the team pinpointed where both patients' damage overlapped: the left medial middle frontal region, specifically Brodmann areas 9, 10, and 32, brain areas tied to self-awareness. The random number generator passed rigorous randomness testing, and the study used real experimental controls rather than just theoretical averages. The authors even suggest that future researchers could temporarily dial down this brain region using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques like TMS or tDCS to test whether that enhances psychic performance in healthy people. It's a small-sample study, but the neuroanatomical specificity is remarkable and genuinely novel in psi research.
Actual Paper Abstract
Context: Despite a large literature on psi, which encompasses a range of experiences including putative telepathy (mind–mind connections), clairvoyance (perceiving distant objects or events), precognition (perceiving future events), and mind–matter interactions, there has been insufficient focus on the brain in relation to this controversial phenomenon. In contrast, our research is based on a novel neurobiological model suggesting that frontal brain systems act as a filter to inhibit psi and that the inhibitory mechanisms may relate to self-awareness. Objective: To identify frontal brain regions that may inhibit psi. Design: We used mind–matter interactions to study psi in two participants with frontal lobe damage. The experimental task was to influence numerical output of a Random Event Generator translated into movement of an arrow on a computer screen to the right or left. Brain MRI was analyzed to determine frontal volume loss. Results: The primary area of lesion overlap between the participants was in the left medial middle frontal region, an area related to self-awareness, and involved Brodmann areas 9, 10, and 32. Both participants showed a significant effect in moving the arrow to the right, i.e., contralateral to the side of primary lesion overlap. Effect sizes were much larger compared to normal participants. Conclusions: The medial frontal lobes may act as a biological filter to inhibit psi through mechanisms related to self-awareness. Neurobiological studies with a focus on the brain may open new avenues of research on psi and may significantly advance the state of this poorly understood field. Key words: mind–matter interactions, frontal lobes, psi filter, anomalous cognition, self-awareness, parapsychology
Research Notes
Expands on Freedman et al. 2003 findings with detailed anatomical lesion analysis. Proposes novel neurobiological model: frontal lobes (especially left medial middle frontal region, Brodmann areas 9, 10, 32) act as psi-inhibitory filter via self-awareness mechanisms. Damage creates 'psi-enriched' population. Important for controversy #4 (psychokinesis) and neuroscience of psi. Suggests potential for rTMS/tDCS studies to inhibit medial frontal lobe and enhance psi. Critiques Moulton & Kosslyn 2008 fMRI study. Uses experimental control data (not theoretical mean) per mainstream neurobehavioral standards. 17 authors from multiple Toronto institutions (Baycrest, Sunnybrook, University of Toronto). Published in Explore 2018;14(1):76-85.
This study tested a novel neurobiological model proposing that frontal brain systems act as a filter to inhibit psi, with inhibitory mechanisms related to self-awareness. Two participants with frontal lobe damage performed mind-matter interaction tasks using a portable Random Event Generator (REG) from the PEAR lab. Case 1: 68-year-old female with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bilateral frontal damage, C9ORF72 mutation). Case 2: 55-year-old male with large left frontal tension pneumocephalus. Task: influence REG output (200 bits/sec) translated into arrow movement on computer screen (right/left intention, baseline). Each intention: 1000 trials; control runs without participant/experimenter. MRI analyzed for frontal volume loss. Results: Both participants showed significant effects for intention right vs control (Case 1: t=-2.16, p=.03; Case 2: p=.0015, replicated p=.0115), but not for left or baseline intentions. Effects lateralized contralateral to lesion side. Effect sizes 4-15x larger than normal participants. Primary lesion overlap: left medial middle frontal region (Brodmann areas 9, 10, 32) - 33% damage Case 1, 17% Case 2. REG passed NIST randomness tests. Conclusions: Medial frontal lobes may act as biological psi-inhibitory filter via self-awareness mechanisms. Damage to this region may enhance psi abilities.
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Related Papers
Cites
- Effects of Frontal Lobe Lesions on Intentionality and Random Physical Phenomena — Freedman, Morris (2003)
- Correlations of Random Binary Sequences with Pre-Stated Operator Intention: A Review of a 12-Year Program — Jahn, Robert G (1997)
- Using Neuroimaging to Resolve the Psi Debate — Moulton, Samuel T (2008)
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📋 Cite this paper
Freedman, Morris, Binns, Malcolm, Gao, Fuqiang, Holmes, Melissa, Roseborough, Austyn, Strother, Stephen, Vallesi, Antonino, Jeffers, Stanley, Alain, Claude, Whitehouse, Peter, Ryan, Jennifer D, Chen, Robert, Cusimano, Michael D, Black, Sandra E (2018). Mind-Matter Interactions and the Frontal Lobes of the Brain: A Novel Neurobiological Model of Psi Inhibition. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2017.12.002
@article{freedman_2018_mindmatter,
title = {Mind-Matter Interactions and the Frontal Lobes of the Brain: A Novel Neurobiological Model of Psi Inhibition},
author = {Freedman, Morris and Binns, Malcolm and Gao, Fuqiang and Holmes, Melissa and Roseborough, Austyn and Strother, Stephen and Vallesi, Antonino and Jeffers, Stanley and Alain, Claude and Whitehouse, Peter and Ryan, Jennifer D and Chen, Robert and Cusimano, Michael D and Black, Sandra E},
year = {2018},
journal = {Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing},
doi = {10.1016/j.explore.2017.12.002},
}