SUBJECT: TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY FILE: UFO1580
For MUFON MUFONET-BBS Network - Mutual UFO Network Copyright 1991
Field ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mutual UFO
Investigators The Investigator's Edge, No. 11 Network
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TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY
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By Robert J. Durrant
[Note: Mr. Durrant is a member and contributing writer for the New Jersey
MUFON Chapter, and current State Section Director for Mercer County.]
Epilepsy...a chronic nervous disease, characterized by fits, occurring at
intervals and attended by convulsive motions of the muscles and loss of
consciousness. So says the dictionary, and the man-on-the-street would agree.
The sort of epilepsy described above results from irregular electrical
functioning in those parts of the brain that control many of the muscles. As
the ability to monitor the brain's electrical activity developed, it became
obvious that other parts of the brain are similarly prone to the haphazard
currents that produce the physical, convulsive type of epilepsy. Of
particular interest to this discussion is epilepsy of the temporal lobes of
the brain. These areas control what is often called the "higher functions" of
the brain/mind. That is, "..accessing declarative memory, the conscious or
active recall of not only what was learned but when and where it was acquired,
and with attributing personal meaning or significance to the constant stream
of sensory input."
What happens when this portion of the brain suffers an epileptic event? The
subject does not thrash about---the temporal lobe doesn't have any connection
with the muscles. Instead, he tends to have experiences that could be called
mystical or paranormal, a sense of a very special purpose in life, or he
imbues unusual events with great and unrealistic meaning. These are not just
vague and generalized feelings. Often they are extremely intense and at times
are described as "more real than real."
In some cases this form of epilepsy is so vivid and frequent that a formal
psychiatric and neurological diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy is possible.
But the usual case seems to present only occasional events. As with any
medical condition, the person afflicted is not likely to seek help unless the
condition is painful or debilitating. A positive diagnosis is possible, but a
negative diagnosis is speculative at best. In other words, it is not within
the state of the art of today's medical technology to say definitely that nay
given patient does not have temporal lobe epilepsy.
Whitley Strieber, author of Communion, Transformation, and Majestic, underwent
two series of tests for temporal lobe epilepsy. Both were negative. Per the
remarks above, and by his own admission, that still leaves open the option
that he does suffer from the condition. But it would indicate that the
condition occurs only sporadically, if at all. It is certainly to Strieber's
credit that he went to such lengths to preclude a psychiatric foundation for
his abduction experiences. In addition to the general symptoms listed above,
there exists a set of quite intriguing specific symptoms of temporal lobe
epilepsy. They are as follows:
1. Paranormal/mystical experiences
2. Enhanced imaginings (especially from childhood)
3. Widening affect
4. Vestibular (floating, low frequency vibration) sensations
5. Anomalous smells
6. Intense episodes of personal meaning
With this set of symptoms in mind, I reviewed the three Strieber books related
to UFO's and abductions. My goal was to determine if there exists in that
body of writing a clearly repeated emphasis on these topics. Communion and
it's sequel Transformation can fairly be said to be continuous reiterations of
symptoms 1,2,3,4 (floating) and 6. Majestic is a fictionalized rendering of
the Roswell crash and it's aftermath. It should be distinguished from the
previous two books, which are veridical and autobiographical. One would
expect to find that Majestic presents few, if any, of the temporal lobe
symptoms. This on the theory that the autobiographical abduction accounts
were produced subsequent to epileptic events, but that the deliberate fiction
writing would be free of the symptomology.
My analysis shows that most of the symptoms are present in greatly reduced
intensity in Majestic compared with the previous books. But oddly, symptom 4
is there in complete form, with both floating as well as low frequency
vibrations, and so is symptom 5, which is nearly absent in the earlier works,
but here erupts repeatedly, indeed, so common are references to these two
symptoms in Majestic that I have systematically culled them out of the text
and listed them serially below. Perhaps their concatenated, seemingly
obsessive use is merely a literary device. certainly Strieber is a master of
the thriller, and I will defer to him on this point, but it does seem strained
and unnatural to my eye. The simple interpretation of this analysis is that
Strieber is clearly suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy. As with everything
else in UFOlogy, and particularly the abduction phenomenon, quick judgments
are dangerous.
Several other optional interpretations are possible, and I will summarize them
here with the understanding that in future articles they will be expanded.
First, that most if not all persons who have close encounters with UFO's
suffer, among a variety of other physiological effects, disruption of the
electrical functions of the brain, including the temporal lobe area. because
of the peculiarities of the temporal lobe, "flashbacks" can occur throughout
life after the initial triggering event. It is unlikely that monitoring of
the electrical pulses of the brain would reveal the irregularities associated
with clinical diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy. Second, it may be that
external means of controlling or communicating with the temporal lobe regions
is the means by which the aliens deal with abductees. In addition to the
positive communications or signals, the process may well include generation of
"noise" both during the communication and, per the remarks above, long after
the communications.
This option may seem absurdly speculative, but in fact it is based on
laboratory work that has been carried out for several years. Subjects have
had their temporal lobes excited by external electromagnetic radiations, with
the result that many of them experience visions and sensations remarkably
similar to the standard abduction. This will also be covered in detail in
future articles.
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