Candidate Genes Related to Spiritual Mediumship:
A Whole Exome Sequencing Analysis of Highly Gifted Mediums
Wagner Farid Gattaz, Marianna de Abreu Costa, Angélica Salatino-Oliveira, Daniel Gaspar Gonçalves, Leda L. Talib, Alexander Moreira-Almeida
DOI: 10.47626/1516-4446-2024-3958
Braz J Psychiatry – BJP Article Pre-Proof (as accepted) Page 2 of 29 Candidate Genes Related to Spiritual Mediumship: A Whole Exome Sequencing Analysis of Highly Gifted Mediums Running title: Candidate Genes Linked to Spiritual Mediumship Wagner Farid Gattaz1,2; Marianna de Abreu Costa3; Angélica Salatino-Oliveira4,5, Daniel Gaspar Gonçalves1, Leda L Talib1, 2; Alexander Moreira-Almeida3 1Laboratory of Neurosciences (LIM-27), Department and Institute of Psychiatry, São Paulo Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. 2Instituto Nacional de Biomarcadores em Neuropsiquiatria, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, São Paulo Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. 3Research Center in Spirituality and Health (NUPES), School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. 4Cells, Tissues, and Genes Laboratory, Experimental Research Center, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. 5Postgraduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Corresponding author: Wagner F. Gattaz. E-mail: gattaz@usp.br. Laboratory of Neurosciences (LIM-27), Department and Institute of Psychiatry, São Paulo Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
ABSTRACT 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 Braz J Psychiatry – Pre-Proof – http://doi.org/10.47626/1516-4446-2024-3958 Braz J Psychiatry – BJP Article Pre-Proof (as accepted) Page 3 of 29 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.
Keywords: exome; gene; mediumship; anomalous experiences; spiritual experiences
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