Presentation Information
[SY-72-01]NEUROSCIENCE, SPIRITUALITY AND PSYCHIATRY
*Marcos de Noronha (Brazilian Association of Cultural Psychiatry(Brazil))
Keywords:
NEUROSCIENCE,SPIRITUALITY,PSYCHIATRY,Belief,mediums
This work arises from experience with healers, or mediums, aiming to verify possible genetic markers in this group that could differentiate them from other people. Faith, even if subjective, can be intensified by material evidence. Belief supports the interaction between healer/patient, doctor/patient, and psychologist/patient, besides intensifying the symbolic effects of medication. One can compare the activity of doctors with that of healers, as both require elements that can strengthen the results of their practice. One such element is belief in the practitioner. Many of them possess the gift of mediumship, which has both a universal and transcendental dimension. By searching for genetic markers correlated with mediumship, the goal is to broaden our understanding of this phenomenon. The study of the exome—the smallest portion of the genome, but responsible for 85% of the proteins essential for life—has recently brought a new perspective. Experienced mediums, with more than ten years of practice and who work spontaneously without charging for their services, were selected. These mediums were compared to groups of similar individuals without mediumship, chosen among their first-degree relatives (mainly siblings). These two groups, closely related by kinship, grew up in the same socio-cultural environment and shared the same socio-economic conditions. A large number of genetic variants were found in the mediums that were not found in the non-mediums. Findings: 33 genes, referred to as candidate genes, were present in about one third of the mediums and in none of the non-mediums.