Temporal lobe discharges and glossolalia |
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| Authors: | Roy R. Reeves Samet Kose Abuhuziefa Abubakr |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Mental Health Service, G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA;2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS, USA;3. Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS, USA;4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS, USA;5. Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS, USA |
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| Abstract: | Glossolalia (speaking in tongues) is a religious phenomenon of which there has been only limited scientific investigation. Described here is the case of a 44-year-old woman who had clonic jerking of the left forearm while speaking in tongues. Waking EEG while she was thinking of nothing in particular was normal. After several minutes of silently praying in tongues she manifested right temporal sharp wave discharges and may have been in a state resembling light sleep. Possible relationships between glossolalia, ecstatic religious phenomena, and temporal lobe electrical discharges are discussed. |
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| Keywords: | EEG Glossolalia Religious phenomena |
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