Neural Correlates of the Shamanic State of Consciousness
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Psychedelics have been recognized as model interventions for studying altered states of consciousness. However, few empirical studies of the shamanic state of consciousness, which is anecdotally similar to the psychedelic state, exist. We investigated the neural correlates of shamanic trance using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in 24 shamanic practitioners and 24 healthy controls during rest, shamanic drumming, and classical music listening, followed by an assessment of altered states of consciousness. EEG data were used to assess changes in absolute power, connectivity, signal diversity, and criticality, which were correlated with assessment measures. We also compared assessment scores to those of individuals in a previous study under the influence of psychedelics. Shamanic practitioners were significantly different from controls in several domains of altered states of consciousness, with scores comparable to or exceeding that of healthy volunteers under the influence of psychedelics. Practitioners also displayed increased gamma power during drumming that positively correlated with elementary visual alterations. Furthermore, shamanic practitioners had decreased low alpha and increased low beta connectivity during drumming and classical music and decreased neural signal diversity in the gamma band during drumming that inversely correlated with insightfulness. Finally, criticality in practitioners was increased during drumming in the low and high beta and gamma bands, with increases in the low beta band correlating with complex imagery and elementary visual alterations. These findings suggest that psychedelic drug-induced and non-pharmacologic alterations in consciousness have overlapping phenomenal traits but are distinct states of consciousness, as reflected by the unique brain-related changes during shamanic trance compared to previous literature investigating the psychedelic state.
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In shamanic journeys, shamans during drumming report eight phenomenological domains: complex imagery, experience of unity, spiritual experience, state of happiness, disembodiment, insight, elementary visual alterations, and altered perceptions (N = 37).
“In the context of shamanic journeys, a study investigating different phenomenological domains by questionnaire highlighted 8 domains reported by shamans during drumming: complex imagery, experience of unity, spiritual experience, state of happiness, disembodiment, insight, elementary visual alterations, and altered perceptions (N = 37) [22].”
From Scoping review on shamanistic trances practices (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA decrease in alpha band connectivity and an increase in beta band connectivity were observed in 18 shamanic trance experts when listening to both shamanic drumming and classical music compared to the control group.
“A decrease in alpha band connectivity and an increase in beta band connectivity were also observed in 18 shamanic trance experts when listening to both shamanic drumming and classical music compared to the control group (listen to the same sounds without entering in trance).”
From Scoping review on shamanistic trances practices (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
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“Conversely, shamanic practitioners and drum listeners exhibited decreased alpha frequency band and connectivity [22, 83], with beta and gamma bands linked to complex internal imagery [22, 51].”
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Phenomenological characteristics of auto-induced cognitive trance and Mahorikatan® trance
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Electrophysiological Correlates of Lucid Dreaming: Sensor and Source Level Signatures
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Micro-variations in timing and loudness affect music-evoked mental imagery
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San trance dance: embodied experience and neurological mechanisms
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Where the Spirit Meets the Bone: Embodied Religiospiritual Cognition from an Attachment Viewpoint
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Religious and spiritual experiences from a neuroscientific and complex systems perspective
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The Psychedelic Renaissance: A Catholic Perspective
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Archaeoacoustics: Research on Past Musics and Sounds
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The trip from metaphor to reality and back
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Transpersonal phenomenology: The cosmological and spiritual dimensions of the Husserlian epoché
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Update of the Altered States Database (ASDB): 2022-12-31Preprint
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Electrophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming: sensor and source level signaturesPreprint
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Theories and Methods of Consciousness
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Consciousness Field Theory: A Critical Review
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Totes and trauma 3: a schematic for trauma persistence
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Neural tracking at theta predicts drumming-induced altered states of consciousness
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- Authors
- Huels, E. R., Kim, H., Lee, U., Bel-Bahar, T., Colmenero, A. V., Nelson, A., Blain-Moraes, S., Mashour, G. A., & Harris, R. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
- Corresponding author
- Harris, Richard E.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2021-03-18
- Volume
- 15
- Pages
- 610466-610466
- ISSN
- 1662-5161 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8012721
- OpenAlex
- W3138593815
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 5.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Medical School, University of Michigan
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Keywords
- shamanic trance, altered states of consciousness, shamans, drumming, psychedelics, gamma power, neuronal connectivity, signal diversity, criticality, visual imagery, insightfulness, EEG
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