Trance States: A Theoretical Model and Cross-Cultural Analysis Michael Winkelman Ethos, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Summer, 1986), 174-203 Stable URL: btp//links jstor.org/sici2sici=0091-2131%28198622%29 14% 3A2%3C174%3ATSATMA%3E2.0,CO%3B2-B Exhos is currently published by American Anthropological Association, ‘Your use of the ISTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use, available at hhup:/www.jstororg/about/terms.hml. JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at hup:/www jstor.org/journals/anthro. hl Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the sereen or printed page of such transmission, STOR is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals, For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact jstor-info@ umich edu, upslwww jstor.org/ Wed Jan 14 16:25:52 2004Trance States: A Theoretical Model and Cross-Cultural Analysis MICHAEL WINKELMAN INTRODUCTION The role of trance states or altered states of consciousness (ASCs) in human societies has been an issue of concern among anthropol- ogists (for example, see Bourguignon 1968, 1976a, 1976b; Lex 1976, 1979; Peters and Price-Williams 1980; Prince 1982a, 1982b; Jilek 1982; Heinze 1983; Noll 1983; Locke and Kelly 1985). Although a few articles have addressed the psychophysiological basis of trance states or the relationship of trance induction procedures to the psychophysiology of consciousness (for example, Lex 1979; Prince 1982a, 1982b), most investigators have implicitly or explicitly as- sumed that trance states of different practitioners and in different societies are similar or identical without explication of the grounds for such assumptions. ‘This paper presents a psychophysiological model of trance states, and relates these changes to the basic structure and physiology of the brain. It is argued that a wide variety of trance induction tech- niques lead to a state of parasympathetic dominance in which the frontal cortex is dominated by slow wave patterns originating in the limbie system and related projections into the frontal parts of the brain, Psychophysiological research on the effects of a variety of trance induction procedures is reviewed to illustrate that these pro- cedures have the consequence of inducing this set of changes in psy- MICHAEL WINKELMAN is Research Anthropologist, School of Social Sciences, Univer- 74TRANCESTATES 175 chophysiology. Clinical and neurophysiological research on the na- ture of human temporal lobe function and dysfunction is reviewed to illustrate that the physiological patterns of conditions frequently labeled as pathological are similar to the psychophysiology of trance states, Analyses of cross-cultural data on trance state induction pro- cedures and characteristics are presented. The model of a single type of trance state associated with magico-religious practitioners is tested and shown to be significantly better than a model represent- ig trance states as discrete types, supporting the theoretical posi tion that there is a common set of psychophysiological changes un- derlying a variety of trance induction techniques. The differences that do exist among practitioners with respect to trances illustrate a polarity between the deliberately induced trance states and those apparently resulting from psychophysiological predispositions to- ward entering trance states. The relationship of trance-type labeling (for example, soul journey/ight, possession) to variables indicative of temporal lobe discharges and variables assessing social condi- tions indicates that possession trances are significantly associated with both symptoms of temporal lobe discharge and with the pres- cence of political integration beyond the local community. A PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MODEL. OF TRANCE STATES, Ludwig (1966) pointed out that ASCs share features in common, listing alterations in thinking, change in sense of time and body im- age, loss of control, change in emotional expression, perceptual di tortion, change in meaning and significance, a sense of ineffability, feelings of rejuvenation, and hypersuggestibility. Although there clearly are psychological and physiological differences associated with different agents and techniques for entering an ASC (For ex- ample, EEG differences in meditation and hypnosis [Kasamatsu and Hirai 1966]), there is evidence that a wide variety of these trance states share basic characteristics. Lex (1979) suggested that ritual-induced altered states of con- sciousness share common physiological features in that they were designed to (1) permit right hemisphere dominance, (2) achieve cor- tical synchronization in both hemispheres, and (3) evoke a domi ant trophotropic (parasympathetic) state. A wide range of trance induction procedures apparently result in a trophotropic pattern176 etnos characterized by parasympathetic discharges, relaxed skeletal mus- cles, and synchronized cortical rhythms, creating a state more typ- ical ofright hemisphere dominance. Davidson (1976) also suggested that the common physiological mechanism underlying a variety of altered states of consciousness involved extensive ergotropic (sym- pathetic) activation leading to trophotropic (parasympathetic) col- lapse. ‘Mandel (1980) provides a more specific physiological mechanism for explaining the regularities observed by the previous investiga- tors. He reviews a large number of experimental and clinical studies, which, he argues, indicate that a wide range of “transcendent states” are based in a common underlying neurobiochemical path- way involving a biogenic amine-temporal lobe interaction. This is manifested in high voltage slow wave EEG activity that originates the hippocampal-septal area and imposes a synchronous slow wave pattern on the frontal lobes. A number of agents and proce- dures invoke this pattern, including hallucinogens, amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, polypeptide opiates, long-distance running, hhunger, thirst, sleep loss, auditory stimuli such as drumming and chanting, sensory deprivation, dream states, and meditation, Man- del suggests that there are two bases for temporal lobe hypersyn- chronous activities, the hippocampal-septal system and the amyg- dala, Spontaneous discharges originating in the hippocampal-septal system are referred to as interictal attacks. Spontaneous synchron- ous discharges originating in the amygdala are more common, and are generally labeled as temporal lobe epilepsy, or mistakenly schiz~ ophrenia (Mandel 1980). ‘The hippocampal-septal region, which is central to the focus of brain activity in trance states, is part of the phylogenetically older part of the brain. It includes terminal projections from the somatic and autonomic nervous systems, forming part of an extensive sys- tem of innervation connecting areas of the brain, in particular link- ing the frontal cortex with the limbic system. This area is central to basic drives, including hunger and thirst, sex, anger, and the fight/ {light response; it includes the pleasure centers and is the area which Papez (1937) correctly hypothesized to be the center of emotions. ‘The hypothalamus has direct control over the pituitary, which re- leases a wide range of neural transmitter substances, including those similar to hallucinogens and opiates. It also releases substances thatTRANCESTATES 17 act upon the reticular activating system and regulate the sleeping and waking cycles. Although these trance states are characterized by the dominance of activity from evolutionarily earlier parts of the brain, these states of consciousness are not primitive. The hippocampal formation is an association area (MacLean 1949); it and associated structures are central to memory acquisition, storage, and recall. Mandel re- views research that indicates that the hippocampal slow wave states are an optimal level of brain activity for energy, orienting, learning, memory, and attention. The hypothalamus is considered to be the control center of the autonomic nervous system, regulating the balance between the sym- pathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the automatic nervous system, which regulate body functions in an interactive balance of activation and deactivation, respectively. The sympathetic nervous system is the activating system, responsible for the stimulation of the adrenal medulla and the release of hormones. Activation of the sym- pathetic nervous system results in diffuse cortical excitation, desyn- chronization of the EEG, and increased skeletal tone, Activation of the parasympathetic system leads to decreased cortical excitation and an increase in hemispheric synchronization. The parasympath- tic nervous system is evoked by a number of chemical, hormonal, temperature, and other influences, including direct stimulation in the 3-8 cycle per second range. Relaxed states also lead to an in- crease in parasympathetic dominance; closing one’s eyes leads to an increase in synchronous alpha patterns in the EEG, while anxiety, arousal, mental effort, and sensory stimulation cause alpha to be re- placed by desynchronized and mixed waves (Gellhorn and Kiely 1972). Parasympathetic dominant states normally occur only dur- ing sleep, but trance states frequently involve phases with a para- sympathetic dominant state as evidenced in collapse and uncon- sciousness. In normal states of balance within the autonomic nervous system, increased activity in one division is balanced by a response in the other. However, under intense stimulation of the sympathetic sys- tem, reciprocity breaks down and a collapse of the system into a state of parasympathetic dominance occurs. Sargant (1974) noted this pattern of parasympathetic rebound or collapse can lead to era- sure of previously conditioned responses, changes of beliefs, loss of memory, and increased suggestibility. Gellhorn (1969) has shown