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UNIVERSITY OApproved For Release 2003/09/16 :9CIA)RDP96-00787R000500240024-7
BERKELEY . DAVIS . IRVINE . LOS ANGELES . RIVERSIDE . SAN DIEGO . SAN FRANCISCO
SANTA BARBARA . SANTA CRUZ
LANGLEY PORTER NEUROPSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94143
June 11, 1976
Dr. Harold Puthoff
Mr. Russell Targ
Stanford Research Institute
333 Ravenswood Avenue
Menlo Park, California
94025
Dear Dr. Puthoff and Mr. Targ:
In this letter is a summary of our efforts to refine and replicate
your report of EEG response to remote stimulation, published in NATURE
in 1975. We have first verified the effect, by playing your previously
recorded data tapes through our analysis system. We then designed a new
experiment with an EMI-free source, tested the experiment on several of
our staff, and, finally we reran your original finding with more extensive
data acquisition and improved controls.
I.
Reanalysis of previous data.
We played the EEG tapes of Hella Hamid, gathered by Dr. Rebert of SRI,
through the following analysis system, whcih can handle a maximum of six
channels simultaneously.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EEG PROCESSOR: The channels of EEG signals
are taken from the output and lead to the alpha EEG filters. The filters
were built by Kinetic Technology, Inc., of Mountain View, California, to
high specifications:
corner frequencies 9.0 and 12.0 Hz, 48 db down at
8.0 and 13.0 Hz with rejection over the rest of the stop band greater than
30 db, pass band ripple less than 0.2 db p-p. The KTI filters also had
a 30-60 mg DC offset.
Therefore, a high pass filter with f=8Hz was designed
which blocked the DC offset and satisfactorily attenuated the delta
contamination, giving adequate comparison to the computer-generated alpha
ratios.
Alpha levels at the filter output are usually less than 400 mv.
Operational amplifiers invert and amplify the filtered alpha (gain=50) to
provide optimum (near maximum) input to the squared circuits.
The alpha
signals are squared by analogue multipliers (Analog Devices #533K) to yield
instantaneous power, an approximation to the FFI computation. The transfer
function is x2/10, with a maximum of + 10V input yielding + 10 V output.
After this stage, the signal processing is commanded by a microprogrammed
controller, hardwired in TTL logic, except for read-only memories (ROM)
which control formatting in the digital printer.
A master clock is
synchronized with the power line (60Hz) .
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When the experimenter is ready to begin data acquisition, he
selects the summation time (1-99 seconds) with a two digit thumbwheel
switch and pushes the START button. In our experiment two four second
intervals were chosen. The START function resets the summing
integrators, commands the printer to print a line of special characters
signifying the beginning of the record, delivers a 50m second pulse to
the polygraph marker channel, and connects the outputs of the six
squared units to the integrators. Switching is handled by reed relays
for lower leakage. Solid state switching devices were used initially,
but leakage currents (10 A) were too high for the accuracy and stability
required. The integrators make use of low loss polystyrene capacitors,
and FFT-input amps with ultra low (5 x 1012 A) input offset current.
This design makes it possible to use long summing intervals or interrupts
with a drift error of no more than 1%.
After the summation time has elapsed, the outputs of the six summing .
integrators are sequentially connected to the analog to digital converter
(ADC) by the analog multiplexer. When each conversion is finished
(10 bits BCD) the data is parallel loaded into shift registers.
The
shift registers are then clocked by the controller to send the data in
digit serial form to the printer. This being completed, the next
integrator is connected to the ADC and the process repeats. This
continues untill all six integrators have been read and the summed power
of each EEG lead is printed. The digital printer is a MC4000 Monroe
Datalog. A fiberoptic cathode ray tube exposes light sensitive paper
quickly and (most important for our research) silently.
All standard
alphanumeric characters are printable.
Next the controller commands a line feed from the printer. The
second line of data for this sample consists of the log ratios of pairs
of integrators.
The log of the ratio rather than the ratio is desired
as it is linera, around zero, e.g., a ratio of 2/1=0.301. The analog
multiplexer is then commanded to connect the first two integrators to the
two inputs of the log ration module. Its output is an analog voltage
representing the log ratio of the two channels to a 10 bit BCD number.
The printing process is the same with the addition of a polatiry bit
indicating which hemisphere has a higher output for the task.
The process is repeated for computation of log ratios of the other two
pairs of integrators.
After the last data are printed, the controller
resets the integrators, then reconnects the squaring units to their
integrators. One count is added to the trial display register which
tells the experimenter at a glance how many 30 second epochs have been
collected. The digitizing, computation and printout takes 2 seconds,
primarily due to the switching speed of the relays.
The results of this transcription and analysis are provided below:
they show power means at O, in the null condition greater than that of the
16 Hz condition at greater than .01. This reanalysis confirmed the
published effect and also ensured the compatibility of our systems.
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TRANSCRIPTION OF DR. REBERT'S TAPES
PLAYED THROUGH THE ANALYZER
FROM FEBRUARY 2, 1976 TO
FEBRUARY 6, 1976
ANOVA w/ REPEATED MEASURES
' Oz 4-8 SECONDS
TREATMENT
x16
SESSION
1:1
578
490
3:1
465
397
2:1
553
466
2:3
232
174
2:4
308
236
Mean: 427.2
352.6
F-RATIO COMPUTATION
SS
df
F
TREATMENTS
13913
1
169.05
<. 01
RESIDUAL
82.3
4
(P, .01=21.2)
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II.
In pretesting our equipment situation, we ran our experiment using
unselected subjects such as laboratory personnel, in order to test the
adequacy of the experiment and to determine whether there were any
correlated electronic or mechanical discharges from the apparatus.
In
20 sessions of data acquisition, of 40 each (800 trials) there were no
significant differences between the null and 16 Hz conditions.
III.
For the formal replication of the experiment we used a non-radiating
electromagnetic source which could be triggered at either OHz or 16Hz.
This was stationed in a remote room approximately 10 meters from the
subject.
The trials in the experimental sessions were triggered by pulses from
one of a set of seven tapes so that no human operator was involved in the
triggering of the trials in either the 16Hz or the OHz condition (once
the session had begun). These tapes were made at our laboratory during
the month preceding the experiment.
Randomized tables for the tapes were generated with a Texas Instrument
SR-51A electronic calculator, which has a random number key. This random
number key produces a sequence of two digit numbers (zero superseeded,
i.e., if the first digit is 0, the zero does not appear but can be assumed ,
which is truly random (i. e., not repetitive, and with no seed number)
and distributed in a pure rectangular distribution.
Random sequences of +'s (16Hz) and -'s (OHz) in lengths of 40 were
generated, constrained by the requirements that 1)
the trials be pseudo-
randomized within each block of trials (i.e., groups 1-10, 11-20, 21-30
and 31-40 each contain five of each kind of trial): and 2) not more than
three trials in a row of either type be allowed.
The following procedure was used: * +'s and -'s were assigned alternat-
ely within each block of 10 trials according to the random sequences of
numbers generated by the key. E.G., if the 21-30 block was being
filled, and the random sequence of numbers was 14, 38, 45, 27: first
a + would go to 1, then a - to 4, then + to 3, - to 8, + to 5, - to 2,
+ to 7, etc., until the block was filled and then on to the next block
(repeated digits were ignored). Further more, each + and the succeeding
- was linked in the record for editing purposes (see below) .
Blocks of +'s and -'s were discarded if it was clear that they would
include sequences of four or more consecutive +'s or -'s; also, if a
sequence of four or more +'s or -'s was created from the juxtaposition
of two blocks of 10, the latter block was reversed (+'s changed to -'s,
and vice versa). A single block of 10 trials was discarded becuase of
calculator failure in the middle of generating the block, and another
becuase of a possible recording error on the part of the operator,
otherwise, each trial that was generated was kept.
*When the condition was first turned on each time, the random number key
was pressed twice to clear initial entries.
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Trials were recorded on a tape with a 4 trace Ampex stereo FM tape
deck in direct mode, with pulses of 4-5 on one channel for the 16Hz
condition and on another for the OHz condition. The pulses were
produced by two Grass stimulators.
They were recorded 30 seconds apart,
then checked afterward on playback. The inter-trial interval was
checked and found to be within 1 second of 30 seconds, consistently,
with no detectable systematic difference between conditions. The
tapes were played back on a Tandberg 2-track stereo tape recorded into
a logic circut which triggered the type of trial corresponding to
the channed. There were no failures in trial triggering due to errors
in the trial tapes at any point during the experiment.
Trials were deleted after the session for three reasons only:
artifact, logic circuit failure resulting in a breakdown in the trial
sequence, or abnormal EEG power (under 50 or above 1299 on printout) .
In each case, the linked trial of any trial discarded was also discarded
along with data from all leads for all 8 seconds.
If more than 10
trials all together were deleted for any session, the session was
deleted. Only in the case where it would make the difference in saying
or discarding a session were the tapes of the session played back
and reanalyzed at different levels to recover all the epochs.
This was done for 3 sessions.
The trials were deleted by experimenters
blind to the condition.
The coded tapes were selected by number with no prearrangement except
that a different tape be used for each session in a set until all
tapes were used once. Only the operator of the logic equipment had
the knowledge of which tape was being used and no person knew before
any trial what the trial type would be: that information was coded in
the tape. The coded tapes were played back through a conventional tape
recorder producing pulses of about 5 volts which, mediated by the
digital logic, triggered the appropriate stimulus type for any trial.
Intertrial interval was fixed by the spacing of pulses on the tape to be
30+ 1 second.
The command box of the free photic stimulator, when
triggered, produced a one second warning tone to both sender and receiver,
then flashed a light for 10 seconds when a 16Hz trial was ordered, or did
nothing if a null trial was ordered. The digital logic meanwhile kept
track of the events from the tape and command box and sent pulses to
turn on and off the analyzer at one and ten seconds respectively
from the onset of the trial. For each trial the digital logic generated
pulses to be recorded on the Hewlett-Packard tape for use, if necessary,
in computer analysis of the data. A 16Hz trial was differentiated from
a OHz trial by the presence of an initial .5 volt positive pulse for
the 16Hz trial. This was the only electronic event of difference to the
conditions that entered the recording area while the experiment was
in progress.
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The "sender" sat before the photic stimulator and behind a partition
*
in a separate room from the receiver or the recording equipment, but
shared a room with the logic, equipment and monitors. The number of
people in the room with the stimulator and the sender varied from one
to three. Noise from the street and hallway were also variable.
The "receiver" sat upright in a sound-attenuated darkened room and
made no overt responses for set 1, but was required to press a button
to indicate her idea of trial type about 12 seconds after the warning
tone for set 2. The subject being familiar with the nature of the
experiment was not formally instructed for each session.
The EEG output (J6) of the Grass model 7 was sent to our data
analysis system, described above and also to a Hewlett Packard FM tape
recorder, through a Vetter :multiplex system. Our obtained means
in arbitrary relative power units are in summary in the table below
with those differences significant at greater than .05 starred. A "set"
was defined a 100 acceptable trials to each type. After the first
set, minor modifications (such as a button to indicate guesses) were
added, and a second set was run.
The total number of acceptable trials
was 212 of both types, or 424 total.
The previous experiment reported a decrement at 0 -linked mastoids
at 16Hz compared with the null condition, in the second four seconds.
We did not find this but did find a significant decrement in Oz in the
first 4 seconds of the first set. None of the other Oz comparisons
attain significance and the combined set 1 and set 2 first 4 seconds is not
significant. Therefore we did not directly repeat your earlier findings.
However, the other occipital leads do also show consistent decrements
at 16Hz compared with null, and analyzing all the data from 01 on all
424 trials over 8 seconds shows a consistent decrement.
This finding is most encouraging and does lead us to pursue the matter
further. There does seem, in these data, an indication of a
consistent effect which is difficult to explain by any arbitrary hypotheses
Since these data are so consistent, even though it is only one subject
and the possibilities so intriguing, we propose to continue our explora-
tions. Specifically, we would like to explore factors on this experiment
such as the dependence of this effect upon the "sender" and to set the
experiment so that no one knows during the experiment which
trial is which. We would also like to explore more elaborate physiological
monitoring of the subject to more precisely determine the locus of the
effect (we found singificance in this experiment in the occipital but
not in the central leads), and its dependence upon site of reference.
We would also like to determine the subject variables such as Ms.
m.
Hamid's EEG under our series of hemispheric activation tasks, and other
tests of her sensitivity to internal stimuli. If we can develop a workable
* A battery driven CW incandescent lamp, chopped by a continuously rotating
apertured disc.
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LIGHT CHOPPER MOTOR
RUNS CONTINUOUSLY
0
0
LIGHT
EEG CHANNELS
1, 2, 3, 4
0
HALLWAY
BETWEEN
ROOMS
TIMING
CHANNEL 5
2 sec
WARNING
TONE
10 sec LOCKING
CIRCUIT CONTROLS
LAMP
BUFFER
AMP
2
.
SHIELDED ROOM
10 Hz
TIMING
GENERATOR
1 kHz TONE
GENERATOR
2 sec BEFORE
EACH TOTAL
PERIOD (Light.
or No Light)
2
SA-4540-11
FIGURE 1
REMOTE SENSING EEG EXPERIMENT
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SET I
C3 .
C4
01
02
0z
0-4 sec.
276
276
353
425
419
261
245 .
305*
336 **
352*
284
268
358
415
420
4-8 sec.
267
249
347
413
413
560
544
711
841
839
0-8 sec.
528
494
655
749
765
COMBINED: 01 ONLY
0-4 sec.
411
383
4-8 sec.
419
383*
0-8 sec.
830
766*
Set II
305
389
469
534
532
0-4 sec.
288
386
461
536
563
4-8 sec.
303
411
479
511
484
274
371
419*
477
516
.
608
800
948
1045
1015
0-8 sec.
562
757
880
1013
1079
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16Hz
"sign at _05
** sign at <. 01
.

1
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experimental paradigm through these further tests and extensions of
the method, we would then be in a position to test many subjects in
this situation and so begin to determine the generality and
distribution of the effect on the population.
Robert E. Ornstein
Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric
Institute
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POSSIBLE EEG CORRELATES TO REMOTE STIMULI UNDER
CONDITIONS OF SENSORY SHIELDING
E. C. May,
*
Russell Targ, and H. E. Puthoff
Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California
94025
ABSTRACT
We have investigated the ability of certain
individuals to perceive remote (faint) stimuli
at a noncognitive level of awareness. To inves-
tigate this we have looked for systematic
changes in a subject's brainwave (EEG) produc-
tion occurring at the same time as light flashes
are generated on a random schedule in a remote
laboratory. Although we have found in this in-
vestigation that significant correlations appear
to exist between the times of light flashes and
the times of brainwave alterations, we consider
these data to be only suggestive, with a defini-
tive result requiring further experimentation.
INTRODUCTION
In a number of laboratories evidence has
been obtained indicating the existence of an as-
yet-unidentified channel wherein information is
coupled from remote electromagnetic stimuli to
the human nervous system as indicated by physio-
logical response, even though overt responses
such as verbalizations or key presses provide no
evidence for such information transfer. Physio-
logical measures have included plethysmographic
response- and EEG activity. 4, Kamiya, Lindsley,
Pribram, Silverman, Walter, and others have
suggested that a whole range of EEG responses
such as evoked potentials (EPs), spontaneous
EEG, and the contingent negative variation (CNV)
might be sensitive indicators of the detection
of remote stimuli not mediated by usual sensory
processes. 4
A pilot study was therefore undertaken at
SRI to determine whether EEG activity could be
used as a reliable indicator of information .
transmission between an isolated subject and a
remote stimulus. Following earlier work of
others, we assumed that perception could be in-
dicated by such a measure even in the absence of
verbal or other overt indicators.
To aid in selecting a stimulus, we noted
that Silverman and Buchsbaum attempted, without
success, to detect EP changes in a subject in
response to a single stroboscopic flash stimu-
lus observed by another subject. " Kamiya sug-
gested that because of the unknown temporal
characteristics of the information channel, it
might be more appropriate to use repetitive
bursts of light to increase the probability of
detecting information transfer.6
Therefore,
in our study we chose to use repetitive light
bursts as stimuli. 7-9
PILOT STUDY AT SRI
In the design of the study it was assumed
that the application of remote stimuli would
result in responses similar to those obtained
under conditions of direct stimulation. For
example, when normal subjects are stimulated
with a flashing light, their EEG typically shows
a decrease in the amplitude of the resting
rhythm and a driving of
the
the brain waves at
frequency of the flashes.
We hypothesized that
if we stimulated one subject in this manner (a
putative sender), the EEG of another subject in
a remote room with no flash present (a receiver),
might show changes in alpha (8-13 Hz) activity,
and possibly EEG driving similar to that of the
sender, either by means of coupling to the sen-
der's EEG, or by coupling directly to the
stimulus.
We informed our subject that at certain
times a light was to be flashed in a sender's
eyes in a distant room, and if the subject per-
ceived that event, consciously or unconsciously,
it might be evident from changes in his EEG out-
put. The receiver was seated in a visually
opaque, acoustically and electrically shielded
double-walled steel room located approximately
7 m from the sender's room.
We initially worked with four female and
two male volunteer subjects.
These were desig-
nated "receivers." The senders were either other
subjects or the experimenters. We decided be-
forehand to run one or two sessions of 36 trials
each with each subject in this selection proce-
dure, and to do a more extensive study with any
subject whose results were positive.
A Grass PS-2 photostimulator placed about
1 m in front of the sender was used to present
flash trains of 10 s duration. The receiver's
EEG activity from the occipital region (Oz),
referenced to linked mastoids, was amplified with
a Grass 5P-1 preamplifier and associated driver
amplifier with a bandpass of 1-120 Hz. The EEG
data were recorded on magnetic tape with an Am-
pex SP 300 recorder.
On each trial, a tone burst of fixed fre-
quency was presented to both sender and receiver
and was followed in one second by either a 10 s
train of flashes or a null flash interval pro-
sented to the sender. Thirty-six such trials
were given in an experimental session, consisting
*
Consultant to SRI.
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tonc -- 12 trials of flashes at 6 f.p.s. and 12
trials of flashes at 16 f. p. s., all randomly in-
termixed, determined by entries from a table of
random numbers. Each of the trials consisted of
an ll-s EEG epoch. The last 4 s of the epoch
were selected for analysis to minimize the desyn-
chronizing action of the warning cue. This 4-s
segment was subjected to Fourier analysis on a
LINC 8 computer.
Spectrum analyses gave no evidence of EEG
driving in any receiver, although in control runs
the receivers did exhibit driving when physically
Stimulated with the flashes. But of the six sub-
jects studied initially, one subject showed a
consistent alpha blocking effect. We therefore
undertook further study with this subject. Of
our six subjects, this one had by far the most
monochromatic EEG spectrum. Figure 1 shows a
typical occipital EEG spectrum of this subject.
6
5
-
POWER - UV- H.
-
4
2
1
()
0
2
4
8
10
12
14
16
FREQUENCY . -- Hz
FIGURE 1
TYPICAL POWER SPECTRUM AVERAGED OVER
TWENTY 8-SECOND EPOCHS
Data from seven sets of 36 trials each were
collected from this subject on three separate
days. This comprised all the data collected to
date with this subject under the test conditions
described above. The alpha band was identified
from average spectra; then scores of average
power and peak power were obtained from indi-
vidual trials and subjected to statistical anal-
ysis. The final analysis showed that power
measures were less in the 16 f.p.s. case than in
the 0 f. p.s. in all seven sets of peak power
measures and in six out of seven average power.
measures.
Siegel's two-tailed t approximation to the
nonparametric randomization test --
was applied
to the data from all sets, which included two
sessions in which the sender was removed. Aver-
age power on trials associated with the occur-
rence of 16 f. p.s. was significantly less than
when there were no flashes (t = 2.09, d.f = 118,
also significantly less in the 16 f.p.s. condi-
tions than in the null condition (t = 2.16,
d.f. = 118, P < 0.03). The average response in
the 6 f. p. s. condition was in the same direction
as that associated with 16 f. p.s., but the ef-
fect was not statistically significant.
As part of the experimental protocol the
subject was asked to indicate conscious assess-
ment for each trial as to which stimulus was
generated. The guess was registered by the sub-
ject via one-way telegraphic communication. An
analysis of these guesses has shown them to be
at chance, indicating the absence of any supra-
liminal cueing, so arousal as evidenced by sig-
nificant alpha blocking occurred only at the
noncognitive level of awareness.
Several control procedures were undertaken
to determine if these results were produced by
system artifacts or by subtle cueing of the
subject. Low level recordings were made from
saline of 12 kQ resistance in place of the sub-
ject, with and without the introduction of
10 Hz, 50 uuV signals from a battery-operated
generator. The standard experimental protocol
was adhered to and spectral analysis of the
results were carried out. There was no evidence
in the spectra associated with the flash fre-
quencies, and the 10 Hz signal was not
perturbed.
In another control procedure a five foot
pair of leads was draped across the subject's
chair (subject absent). The leads were con-
nected to a Grass P-5 amplifier via its high
impedance input probe. The bandwidth was set
0.1 Hz to 30 klz with a minimum gain of 200,000.
The output of the amplifier was connected to
one input of a C.A.T. 400C "averager." Two-
second sweeps, triggered at onset of the tone,
were taken once every 13 seconds for approxi-
mately two hours, for about 550 samples. No
difference in noise level between the fore-
period and the onset of flicker was observed.
REPLICATION STUDIES AT LANGLEY PORTER
The next effort was directed toward repli-
cation by an independent laboratory of the
original SRI study of EEG response to remote
strobelight stimuli. Arrangements for replica-
tion were made with the Langley Porter Neuro-
psychiatric Institute, University of California
Medical Center, San Francisco.
As a special precaution against the possi-
bility of system artifacts in the form of elec-
tromagnetic pickup from the strobelight dis-
charge or associated electronic equipment (c.g.,
through the power lines), SRI developed an
entirely battery-operated package for use as a
stimulus generator for the EEG experimentation.
It consists of a battery-driven incandescent
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LIGHT CHOPApproved For Release 2003/09/16 : CIA RDP96-00787R000500240024-7
RUNS CONTINUOUSLY
0
0
LIGHT
0
0
O
EEG CHANNELS
1, 2, 3, 4
0
HALLWAY
BETWEEN
ROOMS
0
0
OOC
0
TIMING
CHANNEL 5
2 sec
WARNING
TONE
10 sec LOCKING
CIRCUIT CONTROLS
LAMP
BUFFER
AMP
SHIELDED ROOM
10 Hz
TIMING
GENERATOR
1 KH/ TONE
GENERATOR
2 sec BEFORE
EACH TOTAL
PERIOD (Light,
or No Light)
~
SA 4540 11
FIGURE 2
SCHEMATIC OF THE REMOTE SENSING EEG EXPERIMENT
lamp, whose CW output passes through a mechani-
cal chopper continuously driven by a battery-
driven motor as shown in Figure 2. A 10-Hz
timing generator (computor triggered) controls
the generation of a 1-kllz warning tone two sec
before onset of the experimental period, and
also drives a locking circuit that determines
the presence or absence of the ten-sec light
stimuli, again all battery operated. Thus
everything on the left of the diagram of Fig-
ure 2 is battery operated and therefore inde-
pendent of the power line system. Further,
replacement of the arc-discharge strobelamp by
an incandescent lamp eliminates the possibility
of direct subliminal pickup of audio or elec-
trical signals from possible transients associ-
ated with the arc discharge or associated
electronics.
Description of the EEG Processor
A hardware single channel power spectrum
analyzer was constructed from a commercial band-
pass filter with corner frequencies of 9.0 and
12.0 Hz, and 48 dB down at 8.0 and 13.0 Hz.
Analog multipliers convert the filter output to
a signal proportional to in-band power. To con-
firm that this system is equivalent to the stan-
dard FFT analysis used in the pilot study, the
analog data of the pilot study was reanalyzed,
and the result was found to be consistent with
the earlier analysis.
Experimental Protocol
Each experimental session consisted of 40
trials, 20 each for the 0 (no light) and 16
f.p.s. of the remote light stimulus. A trial is
defined as a warning tone followed by a 10 sec-
ond period consisting of a 2 second wait, and
two 4 second data collection periods. The trial
rate was one trial every 30 + 1 seconds. The
trial sequence was randomized subject to the
following conditions: (1) in each group of 10
trials there were cqual numbers of each condi-
tion, and (2) no more than three in a row of a
single type were allowed. Seven 40 trial se-
quences were made according to this prescription
and recorded separately on audio tape. During
the session, trials were generated from one of
these tapes and the sequence was unknown to the
experimenters since the sequence tapes were
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generated one month in advance of the experi-
ments. As in standard EEG protocol, and in
accordance with proestablished criteria, certain
trials were deleted after the session for three
reasons only: artifact, logic circuit failure,
or abnormal EEG power. If a trial was rejected,
a trial of the opposite stimulus condition was
rejected at random from the particular set of 10
trials in question. , If more than 10 trials of
a given type were rejected from a session, the
entire session was deleted. (This occurred
twice in cach experiment. )
Six channels of EEG and one logic channel
taken from the sequence tape were recorded on a
multiplexed FM analog tape recorder. The logic
on the tape differentiated the trials between
flashing and nonflashing conditions.
In pretesting the equipment, we ran the
experiment using unselected subjects such as
laboratory personnel, in order to test the
adequacy of the experiment and to determine
whether there were any correlated electronic or
mechanical discharges from the apparatus. In
20 sessions of data acquisition, of 40 each (800
trials) there were no significant differences
between the null and 16 Hz conditions.
RESULTS
Using the above protocol, two experiments
were conducted during a three-month period.
For
half of the sessions, the subject was asked to
press a button when she felt the light was
flashing. For the six sessions (105 trials each
for the 0 and 16 f.p.s. conditions when she was
not asked to overtly indicate her feelings about
the light, there was a slight decrease of in-
band EEG power measured over the left occipital
region of the brain. Similarly, for the six
sessions (107 trials each for the 0 and 16 f.p.s.
conditions) when she was asked to respond overt-
ly, there was this time a significant decrease
of in-band EEG power (p ≤ 0.037, using an F
ratio test derived from a two-way analysis of
variance). In considering the experiment as
consisting of the combined 212 trials in each
stimulus condition regardless of the overt re-
sponse contingency, we find a statistically sig-
nificant decrease in in-band EEG power (p <
0.011, using F ratio test as above).
During the second experiment, three months
later, a different contingency was added to de-
termine if a "sender" was necessary to produce
the effect we had observed earlier. For a given
session, a random procedure (with equal trials)
was used to determine if a person (called the
"sender" person) would be looking at the photo-
simulator. There was no one present with the
photo-stimulator otherwise. For the 7 "non-
sender" sessions (121 trials each for the 0 and
16 f.p.s. conditions) we find a statistically
significant increase of in-band EEG power mea-
sured over the mid-occipital region of the brain
(p < 0.039 using an F ratio test as above).
During the "sender" sessions (123 trials in each
stimulus condition) there was a slight increase
of in-band EEG power. All together, there was a
statistically significant increase of in-band EEG
power when the 244 trials were analyzed regard-
less of "sender" condition (p < 0.008 using an F
ratio test as above), and there was no signifi-
cant difference found between "sender"/"no-
sender" conditions.
For both experiments, we considered in-
band EEG power for the 0-4 second and 4-8 second
time periods independently to determine if the
effects were time dependent. Although some of
these isolated sub-intervals were statistically
significant, no systematic relationship emerged,
Thus the effect appears to be cumulative over
the 8 seconds. The 0-8 second results are sum-
marized in Table 1.
Table 1
SUMMARY OF RESULTS OF THE REPLICATION EXPERIMENTS SHOWING
POWER MEANS AND STATISTICAL RESULTS FOR THE VARIOUS EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS
Experiment I
Experiment II
Guessing
Sessions
Non-Guessing
Sessions
Combined
Sender
Sessions
Non-Guessing
Sessions
Combined
No light flash
Light flash
957
704
832
761
854
766
810
873
647
860
844
852
F ratio
df1; df2
4.39
2.20
6.47
0.017
4.33
7.03
1; 202
1; 198
1; 400
1; 232
1; 228
1; 460
p ≤
0.037
0.14
0.011
0,90
0.039
0.0083
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Although our pilot experiment and the two
replication studies all showed significant
changes in EEG production correlated with the
presence or absence of a remote light stimulus,
the sign of the systematic change in power in
the third study was opposite to that of the
first two. We therefore undertook a detailed
frequency analysis of the EEG data tapes from
the last two experiments, since the pilot cx-
poriment had already been subjected to fast-
Fourier-transform (FFT) analysis. We conjec-
tured that the observed power change in these
experiments might be the result of a very small
frequency shift, which could become translated
into a large amplitude change due to discrimi-
nator action of the alpha-band filter. In a
chapter on alpha blocking, Kooi, in his Funda-
mentals of Electroencephalography says, for ex-
ample, ". . . attentiveness is associated with a
reduction in amplitude and an increase in aver-
age frequency of spontaneous cerebral poten-
tials. . . The center frequency of the alpha
rhythm may be influenced by the type of ongoing
mental activity. Shifts in frequency may be
highly consistent as two different tasks are
performed alternately." The FFT analysis for
the second experiment showed that the average
peak EEG power occurred most often near 8 Hz,
and thus fell slightly below the hardware sum-
ming window (+3 dB at 8.7-12.4 Hz) enhancing a
possible discriminator effect. The FFT analysis
further showed that there was an overall in-
crease in frequency of peak power but the shift
was statistically nonsignificant. This slight
shift of 0.11 Hz could possibly account for the
observed power increase due to the highly, non-
linear discriminator effects. In examining
other portions of the spectrum for further ef-
fects, we found that systematic amplitude
changes are highly dependent upon where in the
frequency spectrum the power sum is taken, This
is to be expected since almost all EEG phenomena
are known to be strongly frequency dependent.
In the pilot study the frequency region for
analysis was centered about the subject's domi-
nant EEG output frequency with bandpass deter-
mined by the full width ten-percent power points.
In the two replication studies we used hardware
filters at this same frequency. FFT analysis
showed clearly that if other filter bands had
been chosen, significant correlations would not
have been found. Thus, although our filter
selection was made before the collection of any
data, other experimenters might have reasonably
chosen other criteria for frequency selection.
Therefore, although we have found statistically
significant evidence for EEG correlates to re-
mote light flash stimuli, we consider these data
to be only suggestive, with a definitive result
requiring further experimentation.
REFERENCES
1.
E. D. Dean, Int. J. of Neuropsychiatry,
Vol. 2, p. 439, 1966.
2.
C. T. Tart, Int. J. of Parapsychology,
Vol. 5, p. 375, 1963.
3.
T. D. Duane and T. Behrendt, Science, Vol.
150, p. 367, 1965.
4.
R. Cavanna, Ed., Psi Favorable States of
Consciousness. New York: Parapsychology
Foundation, 1970.
5.
Ibid., pp. 143-169.
6.
Ibid., pp. 158-159.
7.
R. Targ and H. Puthoff, "Information Trans-
mission Under Conditions of Sensory Shield-
ing," Nature, Vol. 252, No. 5476, pp. 602-
607, October 18, 1974.
8.
C. Rebert and A. Turner, "EEG Spectrum
Analysis Techniques Applied to the Problem
of Psi Phenomena," Physician's Drug Manual,
Vol. 5, Nos. 9-12, Vol. 6, Nos. 1-8,
pp. 82-88, January-December 1974.
9.
H. Puthoff and R. Targ, "A Perceptual Chan-
nel for Information Transfer Over Kilometer
Distances: Historical Perspective and
Recent Research," Proc. IEEE, Vol. 64,
No. 3, pp. 329-354, March 1976.
10. D. Hill and G. Parr, Electroencephalo-
graphy: A symposium on its Various
Aspects. New York: MacMillan, 1963.
11. S. Siegel, Nonparametric Statistics for
the Behavior Sciences. New York:
McGraw-
Hill, 1956, pp. 152-156.
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