ArticleRevista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999)2025
Candidate genes related to spiritual mediumship: a whole-exome sequencing analysis of highly gifted mediums.
Article in Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Defining the undefined: methodological issues in the genetic study of mediumship.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2025Article
- Response to "Defining the undefined: methodological issues in the genetic study of mediumship".Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThere has been a call for neuroscientific studies of spiritual experiences due to their global prevalence, significant impact, and importance for understanding the mind-brain problem. Mediumship is a spiritual experience where individuals claim to communicate with or be influenced by deceased persons or non-material entities. We assessed whether mediums carry specific genetic alterations.
methodsWe selected highly gifted mediums (n=54) with over 10 years of experience who engaged in mediumistic work for no material gain, performed whole-exome sequencing of these individuals, and compared its findings to those of first-degree relatives who claimed no mediumship (n=53).
resultsWe identified 15,669 variants exclusively found in mediums, likely to impact the function of 7,269 genes. Thirty-three of these genes were altered in at least one-third of all mediums but in none of their relatives. The inflammatory pathway was the most frequently affected (43.9%), with the translocation of zeta-chain associated protein kinase 70 kDa (ZAP-70) to the immunological synapse being particularly prominent.
conclusionThis is the first exome-wide investigation of genes possibly related to mediumistic experiences. We identified gene variants that were present in mediums but not in their non-medium first-degree relatives. These genes emerge as possible candidates for further investigations of the biological underpinnings that allow spiritual experiences such as mediumship.
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