Dean Radin (1) & Eva Lobach (2)
(1) Institute of Noetic Sciences
Petaluma, CA, USA
(2) University of Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Slow cortical potentials in human subjects were measured to test a possible transtemporal component of expectation. One channel of EEG was recorded over the occipital lobe while a participant was exposed to a truly random sequence of dichotomous stimuli: a flash of light or no flash. Successive stimuli were determined randomly four seconds after the participant pressed a button. Data were collected in sessions of 100 trials, contributed by 13 female and 7 male participants. Females' slow cortical potentials differentiated significantly one second before stimulus onset (z= 2.72, p= 0.007, two-tailed). For males, there was a suggestive effect in the opposite direction (z= -1.64, p= 0.10, two-tailed). Examination of alternative explanations indicated that these effects were not due to anticipatory strategies or artifacts associated with equipment, procedures or analytical methods. The experiment suggests that comprehensive models of expectation effects, including the placebo response, may require a transtemporal component.