Alien abduction experiences - Some clues from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry.pdf

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Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry
COGNITIVENEUROPSYCHIATRY,2002, 7 (3),163–178
Alienabductionexperiences:Somecluesfrom
neuropsychologyandneuropsychiatry
KatharineJ.HoldenandChristopherC.French
UniversityofLondon,UK
Introduction. Manythousandsofpeoplearoundtheworldfirmlybelievethatthey
havebeenabductedbyalienbeingsandtakenonboardspaceshipswheretheyhave
beensubjectedtopainfulmedicalexamination.
Method. Giventhatsuchaccountsarealmostcertainlyuntrue,fourareasof
neuroscienceareconsideredwithrespecttopossiblecluesthatmayleadtowardsa
fullerunderstandingofthealienabductionexperience.
Results. First,itisarguedthatsleepparalysismaybeimplicatedinmanysuch
claims.Second,researchintofalsememoriesisconsidered.Itisarguedthat
abducteesmaybemorepronetofalsememoriesthanthegeneralpopulation.
Third,evidenceisconsideredrelatingtothementalhealthofabductees.Itis
concludedthatthereiscurrentlynoconvincingevidenceforhigherratesofserious
psychopathologyamongstabducteescomparedtothegeneralpopulation.
However,abducteesdoseemtoshowhigherlevelsonsomepotentiallyrelevant
measures(e.g.,tendencytodissociate).Finally,claimsthatalienabduction
experiencesmaybelinkedtoabnormalactivityinthetemporallobesisconsidered.
Conclusion. Althoughtheneurosciencesprovidemanycluestothenatureofthis
bizarreexperience,furtherresearchisrequiredbeforeafullunderstandingwillbe
attained.
Thisspecialissueof CognitiveNeuropsychiatry isdevotedto‘‘theneuro-
psychiatryofthebodyinspace.’’Readersmightbeforgivenforassumingthat
theword‘‘space’’isbeingusedhereinageneralsenseandnotinthesenseof
StarTrek ’s‘‘space...thefinalfrontier’’.Inthecaseofthecurrentarticle,
however,suchanassumptionmaybemistaken.
Auniversallyaccepteddefinitionofthealienabductionexperience(AAE)
isnotpossible,asdifferentcommentatorshaveemphasiseddifferentfeatures.
However,accordingtoBullard(1987),commonfeaturesincludecaptureby
thealiensandsubsequentexamination(physical,mental,and/orspiritual).
Theexperiencemayalsoincludecommunicationwiththealiens(often
CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoProfessorChristopherC.French,Anomalistic
PsychologyResearchUnit,GoldsmithsCollege,UniversityofLondon,NewCross,LondonSE14
6NW,UK;e-mail:c.french@gold.ac.uk
# 2002PsychologyPressLtd
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/pp/13546805.html DOI:10.1080/13546800244000058
14447902.001.png
164 HOLDENANDFRENCH
telepathically),aguidedtouroftheUFO,tripstootherworlds,thereceiptof
importantmessagesforhumanity,beingreturned(usuallytothepointof
initialabduction),andvariouspost-abductioneffects.AccordingtoJacobs
(1992,1998),variousreproductiveproceduresarealsoacommonfeatureof
suchexperiences(e.g.,collectionofspermorova,implantationofalien-
humanhybridembryos,removaloffoetuses,sexualactivity,andpresentation
ofhybridbabies).Otherattemptstocharacterisethealienabduction
experiencearesummarisedinTable1.AsAppelle,Lynn,andNewman
(2000)comment,‘‘Ifnothingelse,thesedescriptionsillustratethattheAAE
isadynamic,elaborate,andinvolvedexperience,richincontextualdetail,
withconsiderableperceptual,psychological,cognitive,andphysicalconcomi-
tants’’(p.255).
TABLE1
Summaryoftypicalcharacteristicsofalienabductionexperiences
Gitlib,Appelle,Rodeghier,andFlamburis’(1994)characteristicfeatures:
. Recallofanabductionorencounterwithapparentlynonhumanentities.
. Missingtimerelatedtorecallofunidentifiedlights,objects,orapparentlynonhumanentities.
. Unusuallyrealisticandemotionallyintensedreamsordream-likeexperiencesofUFOsor
apparentlynonhumanentities.
Hopkins,Jacobs,andWestrum’s(1992)‘‘indicatorexperiences’’:
. Wakingupparalysedwithasenseofastrangefigureorfigurespresent.
. Missingtime.
. Thefeelingofactuallyflying.
. Seeingballsoflightinone’sroom.
. Thepresenceofpuzzlingscarsonone’sbody.
Rodeghier’s(1994)‘‘selectioncriteria’’forabductees:
Apersonmustbetaken:
. againsthisorherwill,
. fromterrestrialsurroundings,
. bynonhumanbeings.
Thebeingsmusttakethepersonto:
. anenclosedplace,
. notterrestrialinappearance,
. assumedorknowntobespacecraftbythewitness.
Inthisplacethepersonmusteither:
. besubjectedtoanexamination,
. engageincommunication(verbalortelepathic),
. orboth.
Theseexperiencesmayberemembered:
. Consciously,
. orthroughmethodsoffocusedconcentration(e.g.hypnosis).
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ALIENABDUCTIONEXPERIENCES 165
Itisalsoevidentfromtheliteraturethatthereisnoconsensusregardingjust
howmanypeoplebelievethemselvestobethevictimsofalienabduction.
Bullard(1994)surveyedjust13UFOinvestigatorsandfoundthatbetweenthem
theyhaddetailsofaround1700cases.Strieber(1998)claimstohavereceived
almostaquarterofamillionlettersfromindividualsclaimingaliencontact.
Jacobs(1992)hassuggestedthatasmanyas15millionAmericansmayhave
beenabductedandaccordingtoMack(1992,p.7),‘‘Hundredsofthousands,if
notmillions,ofAmericanmen,womenandchildrenmayhaveexperiencedUFO
abductions,orabduction-relatedphenomena’’.AsStacy(1992)pointsout,the
logisticsofsuchalevelofinvasionbyaliensdefycommonsenseandsimplyfail
tocompute.Althoughthenumberofpeoplewithconsciousmemoriesofalien
abductionexperiencesisordersofmagnitudelowerthanmostofthese
estimates,itisundeniablethatalargenumberofpeoplethroughouttheworld
areconvincedthattheyhavebeenabductedbyaliens.
Uninformedscepticsoftenassertthatallegedalienabducteesaresimplylying
abouttheirexperiences.Theassumedmotivationsarefinancial,inthatclaimants
maymakemoneyfrombooksandfilmrights.Theyarealsopsychosocial,inthat
theabducteemaybecomeacelebratedcase,appearatconferencesandontalk
shows,andgenerallyhaveopportunitiesthatwouldotherwisenotbeavailableto
them.However,asAppelle(1996)pointsout,inthevastmajorityofcases
abducteesdonotgopublicandalthoughsomecasesmayindeedbedeliberate
hoaxes,mostinformedscepticsgenerallyacceptthatthemajorityofclaimants
aresincereintheirbeliefs.Ifabducteesarenotdeliberatelydeceivingother
people,isitpossiblethattheyreallywereabductedbyaliens?Thisseemshighly
unlikely,astheevidencepresentedinsupportofalienvisitationisfarweaker
thanuncriticalandsensationalistmediacoveragetypicallyimplies.Evensuch
celebratedcasesastheallegedcrashofaflyingsaucerandrecoveryofalien
bodiesnearRoswell,NewMexico,in1947areinfactbasedonincrediblyweak
evidence(see,e.g.,Klass,1997;Korff,1997).
Assumingthatabducteesarenotdeliberatelydeceivingothersabouttheir
experiencesandalsoassumingthattheyarealmostcertainlywronginthinking
thattheyreallyhavehadacloseencounterwithanalien,thequestionarisesof
howoneistoaccountfortheirclaims.Areviewoftheliteraturerevealsthata
numberofdifferentapproachestoansweringthisquestionhavebeenadopted.
Oneapproachinvolvesfocusingonthepersonalitiesofabducteeclaimantsand
exploringfactorssuchaslevelsoffantasyproneness(e.g.,Bartholomew,
Basterfield,&Howard,1991;Bartholomew&Howard,1998;Newman&
Baumeister,1996;Ring&Rosing,1990;Rodeghier,Goodpaster,&Blatter-
bauer,1991;Spanos,Cross,Dickson,&DuBreuil,1993),boundary-deficit
personality(e.g.,Parnell&Sprinkle,1990;Ring&Rosing,1990),escape-from-
selfandmasochisticfantasies(e.g.,Newman&Baumeister,1996),andthe
psychicallysensitivepersonality(e.g.,Johnson,1994).Othershaveviewedalien
abductionexperiencesastheproductofbiasedinvestigators(e.g.,Klass,1988;
166 HOLDENANDFRENCH
Matheson,1998).Finally,someresearchershaveconsideredtheclaimsofalien
abducteesintermsofpossiblecluesfromthefieldsofneuropsychologyand
neuropsychiatry.Thefocusofthispaperisonthelatter.
Formoregeneralreviewsofthealienabductionphenomenon,thereaderis
referredtoAppelle(1996),Appelle,Lynn,andNewman(2000),Bartholomew
andHoward(1998),DevereuxandBrookesmith(1997),French(2001),
NewmanandBaumeister(1996),Randle,Estes,andCone(1999),and
Rutkowski(2000).
SLEEPPARALYSIS
AsBaker(1995)pointsout,asearchforpossibleexplanationsofalienabduction
experiencesonthemedicaldatabaseMEDLINEyieldsnoresultsifonetypesin
wordssuchas‘‘UFOcontacts’’or‘‘alienabduction’’.Thisdoesnot,however,
indicatethatmedicinehaslittletoofferinthewayofexplanationsforsuch
claims.Indeed,foranyonefamiliarwithsleepdisorders,theaccountsgivenby
abducteesmay,accordingtosometheorists,oftenbeexplainedbya
nonpathologicalsleepdisorderknownassleepparalysis(e.g.,Baker,1995;
Blackmore,1994;Newman&Baumeister,1996;Randle,Estes,&Cone,1999).
GiventhatmanyUFOexperiencesareassociatedwithsleep(e.g.,almost60 % of
theintenseexperiencesinastudybySpanosetal.,1993),thisisareasonable
assertion.Sleepparalysisisastandardsymptomofnarcolepsybutcanoccur
quitecommonlyinthegeneralpopulation(e.g.,Everett,1963;Dahlitz&Parkes,
1993).ThemusclesofthebodyareparalysedduringtheREM(rapideye
movement)stageofsleepwhichoccursseveraltimesduringeachnight.Onlyon
rareoccasions,however,arepeopleconsciouslyawareoftheirparalysisduring
thissleepstage.ForthisreasonanumberofwritersrefertotheconditionasASP
(awarenessduringsleepparalysis).
ASPisoftenassociatedwithotherpuzzlingsymptomsandoccursasaperson
(usuallylyingontheirback)iseitherabouttofallasleeporisjustwakingup.An
episodeusuallybeginswiththepersonfeelingthattheyarebecomingheavier
andheavier.Althoughthesubjectisconsciouslyawareofhis/herenvironment
theyareunabletomove(exceptfortheeyes)ortospeak.Itisoften
accompaniedbyanincreasedheartrate,breathingdifficulties,andacutefeelings
ofanxietyordread.Fortunately,ASPisatransientstateandmayonlylastfrom
amatterofseconds,uptoaperiodofseveralminutes.Theresultsofanumberof
studiessuggestthatsomewherebetween25 % to40 % ofthepopulationhavehad
someexperienceofit(e.g.,Fukuda,Mayasita,Inugami,&Ishihara,1987).
DespitesuchrelativelyhighlevelsofASPtheconditionisnotcommon
knowledgeamongthegeneralpublic.Peoplearethusunlikelytodescribetheir
unusualexperiencesintermsofASP,butrathertodescribeitintermsofaspirit
encounter,oranencounterwithabeingfromanotherplanet.Indeed,accountsof
alienabductionincludingtheunusualsensationsabovearefarmorecommonin
ALIENABDUCTIONEXPERIENCES 167
modernWesternsociety,forexample,Streiber’s(1987)best-sellingbook,
Communion:Atruestory ,thanscientificaccountsofASP.
IthasbeenfoundthatASPislikelytobeaccompaniedbyhypnagogicand
hypnopompicimagery,whichconsistofanomaloussensoryexperiences.For
example,Cheyne,Newby-Clark,andRueffer(1999a)foundthatof254
participantsreportingsleepparalysis,99reportedauditoryexperiencesand75
reportedvisualexperiences.Theword‘‘hypnagogic’’comesfromtheGreek
‘‘hypnos’’(sleep)and‘‘agogos’’(leading).Itreferstosensations,suchas
hallucinations(auditoryandvisual),aterrifyingsenseofpresence(often
describedasthreateningorevil;see,e.g.,Cheyne,2001),afeelingofpressure
onthechest,andthefeelingoffloating.Theword‘‘hypnopompic’’comesfrom
theGreek‘‘hypnos’’(sleep)and‘‘pompe’’(procession)andreferstothesame
sensationswhentheyareexperiencedaftersleep,priortocompleteawakening.
Thevisualhallucinationsmayinvolvelights,animals,strangefigures,and
demons.Auditoryhallucinationsmayincludeheavyfootsteps,hummingor
buzzingnoises,andsoundsofheavyobjectsbeingmoved.Varioustheorieshave
beenproposedtoexplaintheassociationofsuchhallucinationswithASPand
thoseofTerrillonandMarques-Bonham(2001)andCheyne,Rueffer,and
Newby-Clark(1999b)areoutlinedbelow.
Inthepast,hypnagogicandhypnopompicexperienceswereinterpretedin
termsofallegedattacksbytheincubus(maledemon)andthesuccubus(female
demon).Itwasclaimedthatthesedemonswouldappearinthenightandleapon
tothevictim’schestandtrytochokethesleeper.Otherdemonsweresaidto
enterthevictim’sroomandengageinsexualintercoursewiththem.Indeed,the
Latinword‘‘incubus’’translatesinto‘‘onewhopressesorcrushes’’.Thesame
coreexperiencehasbeenreportedthroughouthistoryinmanydifferentcultures,
althoughtheinterpretationoftheexperiencemayvary(Hufford,1982).For
example,SlavicfolklorereferstotheVjekdemonwhotriestocrushvictimsby
lyingdownontheirchests.
EpisodesofASP,althoughterrifying,arequiteharmless,butinorderto
understandhowabodycansuddenlybecomeparalysedwhenthatpersonisina
wakingstate,oneneedstofirstconsidernormalsleepcycles.Whenapersonis
asleepREMandnon-REM(NREM)sleepalternatescyclicallythroughoutthe
night.Accordingtotheactivation-synthesistheoryofdreaming(Hobson&
McCarley,1977;McCarley&Hobson,1979),REMsleepoccursdueto
inhibitoryactionofREM-offcellsinreciprocalinteractionwithREM-oncells.
Thesemechanismsinthebrainstem(specifically,reticular,vestibular,and
oculomotorneurons)preventmotoroutputandblocksensoryinputandprovide
theforebrainwithinternallygeneratedactivity.Theroleoftheforebraincentre
istotransformquasi-randomactivationintomeaningfulpatterns.
ForalmosthalfacenturyREMandNREMhavebeenacknowledgedasbeing
distinctlydifferentphasesofsleep(Aserinsky&Kleitman,1953;Jouvet,1967).
REMsleepischaracterisedbylowvoltagefastEEGwaveswithslowtheta

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