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Telepathy in mental illness: deluge or delusion?

The belief that one can read others' minds has long been considered a symptom of psychosis, despite reports in the parapsychological literature of veridical telepathy. All patients admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit were screened for paranormal beliefs, and those claiming telepathic abilities were tested in a free-response ESP task. Eighteen per cent of the inpatient population claimed telepathic abilities; of the nine patients who completed the task, none performed above chance expectations. Higher frequencies of paranormal experiences than those reported previously in the psychiatric literature were attributed to the context of the study. Schneider's first rank symptoms and a belief in telepathy discriminated schizophrenics more reliably than other paranormal experiences. Possible psychodynamics of delusions of telepathy were discussed in view of the predominance of women and younger men reporting them, as were the possible effects of such research on patients' delusions.

Adolescent

[Modern magic and medicine].

In a paper presented on the occasion of the 5th Congress of gynecology in the GDR the author discusses in details the phenomenon of modern occultism and quackery. Preferably he examines the so called parapsychology and declares that this is a field without any scientific value. Therefore the course of action of parapsychologists is not to be accepted without resolute reply.

Ethics, Medical

[On "gespür" (author's transl)].

The term "Gespür" frequently used by H. ASPERGER is analyzed by the author. Predispositions for perceptual abilities and formal interpretation of expression and behavior, their ontogenetic and phylogenetic background are examined as well as defects (lack of sensitivity for expression), and their consequences for subjects involved. The questions of trainability and differentiation to parapsychological phenomena are also discussed.

Affective Symptoms

"El duende" and other incubi. Suggestive interactions between culture, the devil, and the brain.

The belief in persecution or possession by evil sprits is still popular in Latin American countries. Observations were made on 12 Columbian families who were haunted by 'el duende' (a special kind of imp, goblin, or poltergeist) and other spirits. Interviews elicited a detailed account of events, a demographic and socioeconomic description ofthe families, exploration of the psyhosocial antecedents, and a psychiatric evaluation of individual members of the group regared as key persons. Possible psychodynamic mechanisms are involved in the production of the phenomenon and factors in the successful 'therapeutic'interventions of spiritualist rather than psychiatric or religious healers. The interaction of culture , folk belief, and the brain impaired by lesion or faulty learning appears as the important accountable dimension.

Adolescent

Systematic experiments to establish the spatial distribution of physiologically effective stimuli of unidentified nature.

Many persons react to a kind of external agent by unconscious muscular reactions if they move across a place where this agent is supposed to be particularly active. Such places normally coincide with geological discontinuities, such as water veins, mineral ores. Practitioners of this art of detecting claim that the reaction patterns on different levels above ground are identical as vertical projections of the source pattern, this without perceptible attenuation. In some cases the supposed source was believed to have been found up to several hundred meters below ground surface. The statement of perpendicular propagation, which is the subject of this paper, is of prime importance for an approach towards understanding and all kinds of prospecting.

Biophysical Phenomena