Social Bonding in the Modulation of the Physiology of Ritual Trance
- Ede Frecska
- Mar 1, 1989
- 6 min read
Updated: 14 hours ago
“Social Bonding in the Modulation of the Physiology of Ritual Trance” by Ede Frecska and Zsuzsanna Kulcsár. Reprinted by permission of the American Anthropological Association from Ethos 17:1, March 1989. P. 70–87.
About the authors:
Ede Frecska is a Hungarian psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist who graduated from Semmelweis University (1977) and qualified as a psychologist at Loránd Eötvös University. After completing his residency in psychiatry in Hungary (1986) and the United States (1992), he became chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Debrecen and practiced in Northport, New York. His research focuses on altered states of consciousness (ASC), their neurobiological mechanisms and application in psychotherapy, as well as cognitive neuroscience and quantum dynamics of the brain. The author and co-author of over 100 publications, including the book Inner Paths to Outer Space (2008), Frecska has gained recognition in professional communities (APA, ECNP).
Zsuzsanna Kulcsár (1937–2013) was a Hungarian psychiatrist and psychologist who was educated in medicine and psychology and became a prominent researcher in the field of psychopathology and altered states of consciousness (ASC). Working at the National Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Budapest, she focused her research on the neurobiological basis of antisocial behavior and psychopathy, studying molecular mechanisms, including glucose metabolism and neurotransmission disorders. Her work, published in leading scientific journals, has made a significant contribution to the understanding of mental disorders and their connection to altered states of consciousness. Kulcsár was an active member of professional communities, and her research has received international recognition.
Abstract
All traditional shamanic practices pursue the same end: to destroy" profane" sensibility. The monotonous chants, the endlessly re-peated refrains, the fatigue, the fasting, the dancing, the narcotics, and so forth, create a sensory condition that is wide open to the "supernatural." This is not only, of course, a matter of physiological techniques: traditional ideology directs and imparts values to all these efforts intended to break the frame of profane sensibility. What is above all indispensable is the absolute belief of the subject in the spiritual universe that he desires to enter; nothing can be attained without the "faith."
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