Candidate Genes Related to Spiritual Mediumship: A Whole Exome Sequencing Analysis of Highly Gifted Mediums.

Objective: There has been a call for neuroscientific studies of spiritual experiences due to their global prevalence, significant impact, and importance for understanding the mind-brain problem. Mediumship is a spiritual experience where individuals claim to communicate with or be influenced by deceased persons or non-material entities. We assessed whether mediums possess specific genetic alterations.

Methods: We selected highly gifted mediums (n = 54) with over 10 years of experience who engaged in mediumistic work without material benefits, analyzed whole exome sequencing, and compared them to non-medium first-degree relatives (n = 53).

Results: We identified 15,669 variants exclusively found in mediums, likely to impact the function of 7,269 genes. Thirty-three of these genes were altered in at least one-third of all mediums but in none of their relatives. The inflammatory pathway was the most frequently affected (43.9%) with the translocation of ZAP-70 to the immunological synapse being particularly prominent.

Conclusion: This is the first exome-wide investigation of genes possibly related to mediumistic experiences. We identified gene variants that are presented in mediums but not in their first-degree non-medium relatives. These genes emerge as possible candidates for further investigations of the biological underpinnings that allow spiritual experiences such as mediumship.