CHAPTER 8
1. Our belief in invisible persons may have different roots, possibly including so-called hyperactive agent-detection devices (see D. Barrett, «Exploring the Natural Foundations of Religion,» Trends Cog. Sci. 4:29–34, 2000) and ancestor cults: See Daniel C. Dennett, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (New York: Viking, 2006), esp. 109ff; and Thomas Metzinger, Being No One: The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003), 371ff. Also note that out-of-body experiences would almost inevitably have contributed to early humankind's firm belief in the existence of invisible persons and more subtle levels of reality. See T. Metzinger, «Out-of-Body Experiences as the Origin of the Concept of a 'Soul,'» Mind and Matter 3(1):57–84 (2005).
CHAPTER 9
1. Y. Kamitami & S. Shimojo, «Manifestation of Scotomas Created by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Human Visual Cortex,» Nature Neuroscience 2:767–771 (1999).
2. B.-P. Bejjani et al., «Transient Acute Depression Induced by HighFrequency Deep-Brain Stimulation,» N.E. Jour. Med. 340:1476-80 (1999). Here are examples of how the patient described her own conscious experience: «I'm falling down in my head, I no longer wish to live, to see anything, hear anything, feel anything.» The authors report that when she was asked why she was crying and if she felt pain, she responded: «No, I'm fed up with life, I've had enough. I don't want to live anymore, I'm disgusted with life. Everything is useless, always feeling worthless, I'm scared in this world.»
When asked why she was sad, she replied: «I'm tired. I want to hide in a corner. I'm crying over myself, of course. I'm hopeless, why am I bothering you.» Note that deep brain stimulation can also have just the opposite effect, namely, relief from serious, treatment-resistant depression. Here is a description: «All patients spontaneously reported acute effects including 'sudden calmness or lightness,' 'disappearance of the void,' 'sense of heightened awareness,' 'connectedness,' and sudden brightening of the room, including a sharpening of visual details and intensification of colors in response to stimulation.» See H. Mayberg, «Clinical Study: Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression,» Neuron 45:651–660 (2005).
3. C. M. Cook & M. A. Persinger, «Experimental Induction of the 'Sensed Presence' in Normal Subjects and an Exceptional Subject,» Percept. Mot. Skills 85:683–693 (1997). For a critical assessment and self-experiential report, see John Horgan,