An experiment we conducted from 2012 to 2013, which had not been previously reported, was designed to explore possible psychophysical effects resulting from the interaction of a human mind with a quantum system. Participants focused their attention toward or away from the slits in a double-slit optical system to see if the interference pattern would be affected. Data were collected from 25 people in individual half-hour sessions; each person repeated the test ten times for a total of 250 planned sessions. “Sham” sessions designed to mimic the experimental sessions without observers present were run immediately before and after as controls. Based on the planned analysis, no evidence for a psychophysical effect was found. Because this experiment differed in two essential ways from similar, previously reported double-slit experiments, two exploratory analyses were developed, one based on a simple spectral analysis of the interference pattern and the other based on fringe visibility. For the experimental data, the outcome supported a pattern of results predicted by a causal psychophysical effect, with the spectral metric resulting in a 3.4 sigma effect (p = 0.0003), and the fringe visibility metric resulting in 7 of 22 fringes tested above 2.3 sigma after adjustment for type I error inflation, with one of those fringes at 4.3 sigma above chance (p = 0.00001). The same analyses applied to the sham data showed uniformly null outcomes. Other analyses exploring the potential that these results were due to mundane artifacts, such as fluctuations in temperature or vibration, showed no evidence of such influences. Future studies using the same protocols and analytical methods will be required to determine if these exploratory results are idiosyncratic or reflect a genuine psychophysical influence.

GENERAL COMMENTARY article Front. Psychol., 15 April 2020Sec. Cognition Volume 11 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00726

An experiment was conducted to explore possible psychophysical influences on interference patterns generated by an optical double-slit system. The experiment was motivated by a proposed explanation of the quantum measurement problem by John von Neumann and others, namely that consciousness collapses the quantum wavefunction. The study design generated a single database partitioned into eight differential tests, four in experimental conditions where participants alternately directed their attention toward and away from the optical system, and four in sham conditions when no one was present. The planned analysis was comparison of means in attention-toward vs. attention-away conditions; a secondary analysis added later, but before the data were examined, was comparison of variances. After adjusting the eight mean comparisons for multiple testing, none were statistically significant, but one of the eight variance differences was suggestively significant.To date, 11 of 28 conceptual replications of this experiment, reported by four independent teams, have reported statistically significant outcomes (p < 0.05, two-tail), where only one would be expected by chance. Given the implications of psychophysical effects on our understanding of the role of consciousness in the physical world, we encourage others to attempt to replicate this experiment.

Studies of various characteristics of the human face indicate that it contains a wealth of information about health status. Most studies involve objective measurement of facial features as correlated with historical health information. But some individuals also claim to be adept at intuitively gauging mortality based solely upon a quick glance at a person's photograph. To test this claim, we invited 12 such individuals to see if they could tell if a person was alive or dead based solely on a brief examination of his or her photograph. All photos used in the experiment were transformed into a uniform gray scale and counterbalanced across eight categories as follows: gender, age, gaze direction, glasses, head position, smile, hair color, and image resolution. Participants examined 404 photographs displayed on a computer monitor, one photo at a time, each shown for a maximum of 8 seconds. Half of the individuals in the photos were deceased, and half were alive at the time the experiment was conducted. Participants were asked to indicate if they thought the person in a photo was living or deceased by pressing an appropriate button. Overall, mean accuracy on this task was 53.6%, where 50% was expected by chance (P = .005, two tail). Statistically significant accuracy was independently obtained in 5 of the 12 participants. We also collected 32-channel electrocortical recordings and observed a robust difference between images of deceased individuals correctly vs. incorrectly classified in the early event related potential at 100 ms post-stimulus onset. We then applied machine learning techniques to classify the photographs based on 11 image characteristics; both random forest and logistic regression machine learning approaches were used, and both classifiers failed to achieve accuracy above chance level. Our results suggest that some individuals can intuitively assess mortality based on some as-yet unknown features of the face.

To investigate von Neumann’s proposal that an “extra-physical process” is involved in the measurement of a quantum system, an online experiment was conducted using a double-slit optical system. In a counterbalanced fashion, participants focused their attention toward or away from a feedback signal linked in real-time to the double-slit component of an interference pattern. A line camera continuously recorded the interference pattern at 4 Hz, and for each camera image fringe visibility was determined for the central 20 fringes. During 2013 and 2014, a total of 1,479 people from 77 countries contributed 2,985 test sessions. Over the same period 5,738 sessions were run as controls by a computer programmed to simulate human participants. The results showed that with human observers the fringe visibility at the center of the interference pattern deviated from a null effect by 5.72 sigma (p = 1.05×10), with the direction of the deviation conforming to the observers’ intentions. The same analysis applied to the control data resulted in an overall deviation of -0.17 sigma. After consideration of alternative explanations, these results were found to support von Neumann’s conclusion that the mind of the observer is an inextricable part of the measurement process. This type of experiment offers a means of empirically resolving longstanding questions about the role of consciousness in the physical world. Resume: Pour examiner si le concept de von Neumann en mecanique quantique d'une interaction de nature « non-physique » est mieux interpretee comme une forme passive d'observation ou comme une influence active, une experience a ete menee sur Internet en utilisant un systeme optique a double fente. Dans un protocole contrebalance, les participants ont concentre ou non leurs attentions sur un signal representant en temps reel le niveau d’interference du systeme de double fente. Une camera enregistrait en continu le motif d'interference a 4 Hz, et pour chaque image, la visibilite d’interference des 20 franges d’interference centrales a ete calculee. Au cours des annees 2013 et 2014, 1479 personnes en provenance de 77 pays ont contribue 2985 sessions. Au cours de la meme periode 5738 sessions controles ont ete enregistrees par un ordinateur qui simulait un participant humain. Les resultats ont montre que la visibilite d'interference pendant les periodes de concentration

Recent studies have shown that characteristics of the face contain a wealth of information about health, age and chronic clinical conditions. Such studies involve objective measurement of facial features correlated with historical health information. But some individuals also claim to be adept at gauging mortality based on a glance at a person's photograph. To test this claim, we invited 12 such individuals to see if they could determine if a person was alive or dead based solely on a brief examination of facial photographs. All photos used in the experiment were transformed into a uniform gray scale and then counterbalanced across eight categories: gender, age, gaze direction, glasses, head position, smile, hair color, and image resolution. Participants examined 404 photographs displayed on a computer monitor, one photo at a time, each shown for a maximum of 8 s. Half of the individuals in the photos were deceased, and half were alive at the time the experiment was conducted. Participants were asked to press a button if they thought the person in a photo was living or deceased. Overall mean accuracy on this task was 53.8%, where 50% was expected by chance (p < 0.004, two-tail). Statistically significant accuracy was independently obtained in 5 of the 12 participants. We also collected 32-channel electrophysiological recordings and observed a robust difference between images of deceased individuals correctly vs. incorrectly classified in the early event related potential (ERP) at 100 ms post-stimulus onset. Our results support claims of individuals who report that some as-yet unknown features of the face predict mortality. The results are also compatible with claims about clairvoyance warrants further investigation.

Six experiments were conducted using a single-photon double-slit apparatus to test von Neumann's notion that the quantum wavefunction is “collapsed” by what he called a psychophysical interaction. Individuals were asked to direct their attention toward or away from the optical system while receiving information about the number of photons arriving per second at an interference fringe minimum. Overall the experiments found evidence supportive of an interaction that appears to “steer” the wavefunction to either reduce or to sharpen interference fringes. This outcome informs efforts to unify subjective and objective modes of apprehending the world because it suggests that these two apparently different ways of knowing may be complementary aspects of a unitary phenomenon, analogous to how a Möbius strip appears to have two sides, but when examined is found to have only one. The correlations observed in our experiments can be interpreted in two main ways: as a form of mind-matter interaction, which implies a dualistic model, or as arising from a common source, which implies a monist model. We propose that a monist model is a more satisfying explanation.

independent analysis of data from a double-slit experiment designed to investigate von Neumann-like psychophysical interactions, Baer [Phys. Essays 28, 47 (2015)] concluded that shifts in interference pattern minima showed a small but consistent effect in alignment with what we had previously reported. But because the standard deviation of those measurements was large compared with the mean, Baer concluded that the optical system was not sufficiently sensitive to provide convincing evidence of a psychophysical effect. However, this type of assessment should rely on standard error, not standard deviation. When the proper statistic is employed, Baer's calculations show a modest but statistically significant deviation of the central minima in data contributed by human observers (p = 0.05, one-tail), but not in sessions contributed by robot "observers" (p = 0.26, one-tail). In addition, when considering the central minimum along with eight other minima, the human-observed grand mean was significantly larger than the robot-observed grand mean (p = 0.008). Thus, Baer's independent analysis confirmed that the optical apparatus used in this experiment was indeed sensitive enough to provide evidence for a psychophysical effect. (C) 2015 Physics Essays Publication.

Previously reported experiments suggested that interference patterns generated by a double-slit optical system were perturbed by a psychophysical (i.e., mind-matter) interaction. Three new experiments were conducted to further investigate this phenomenon. The first study consisted of 50 half-hour test sessions where participants concentrated their attention-toward or -away from a double-slit system located 3m away. The spectral magnitude and phase associated with the double-slit component of the interference pattern were compared between the two attention conditions, and the combined results provided evidence for an interaction (effect size = -0.73 +/- 0.14, p = 2.4 x 10(-7)). One hundred control sessions using the same equipment, protocol and analysis, but without participants present, showed no effect (effect size = 0.04 +/- 0.10, p = 0.71). A Fraunhofer diffraction model was used to explore various interpretations of this outcome. This analysis suggested that the distribution of light between the two slits and the horizontal stability of the laser beam were the principle components of the optical system that were perturbed. The second experiment used a duplicate double-slit system and similar test protocol, but it was conducted over the Internet by streaming data to participants' web browsers. Some 685 people from six continents contributed 2089 experimental sessions. Results were similar to those observed in the first experiment, but smaller in magnitude (effect size = -0.09 +/- 0.02, p = 2.6 x 10(-6)). Data from 2303 control sessions, conducted automatically every 2 h using the same equipment but without observers showed no effect (effect size = -0.01 +/- 0.02, p = 0.61). Distance between participants and the optical system, ranging from 1 km to 18,000 km, showed no correlation with experimental effect size. The third experiment used a newly designed double-slit system, a revised test protocol, and a simpler method of statistical analysis. Twenty sessions contributed by 10 participants successfully replicated the interaction effect observed in the first two studies (effect size = -0.62 +/- 0.22, p = 0.006). (C) 2013 Physics Essays Publication.

During advanced meditative practices, unusual perceptions can arise including the sense of receiving information about unknown people who are deceased. As with meditation, this mental state of communication with the deceased involves calming mental chatter and becoming receptive to subtle feelings and sensations. Psychometric and brain electrophysiology data were collected from six individuals who had previously reported accurate information about deceased individuals under double-blind conditions. Each experimental participant performed two tasks with eyes closed. In the first task, the participant was given only the first name of a deceased person and asked 25 questions. After each question, the participant was asked to silently perceive information relevant to the question for 20 s and then respond verbally. Responses were transcribed and then scored for accuracy by individuals who knew the deceased persons. Of the four mediums whose accuracy could be evaluated, three scored significantly above chance (p < 0.03). The correlation between accuracy and brain activity during the 20 s of silent mediumship communication was significant in frontal theta for one participant (p < 0.01). In the second task, participants were asked to experience four mental states for 1 min each: (1) thinking about a known living person, (2) listening to a biography, (3) thinking about an imaginary person, and (4) interacting mentally with a known deceased person. Each mental state was repeated three times. Statistically significant differences at p < 0.01 after correction for multiple comparisons in electrocortical activity among the four conditions were obtained in all six participants, primarily in the gamma band (which might be due to muscular activity). These differences suggest that the impression of communicating with the deceased may be a distinct mental state distinct from ordinary thinking or imagination.

A double-slit optical system was used to test the possible role of consciousness in the collapse of the quantum wavefunction. The ratio of the interference pattern's double-slit spectral power to its single-slit spectral power was predicted to decrease when attention was focused toward the double slit as compared to away from it. Each test session consisted of 40 counterbalanced attention-toward and attention-away epochs, where each epoch lasted between 15 and 30 s. Data contributed by 137 people in six experiments, involving a total of 250 test sessions, indicate that on average the spectral ratio decreased as predicted (z=-4:36, p=6·10 -6 ). Another 250 control sessions conducted without observers present tested hardware, software, and analytical procedures for potential artifacts; none were identified (z=0:43, p=0:67). Variables including temperature, vibration, and signal drift were also tested, and no spurious influences were identified. By contrast, factors associated with consciousness, such as meditation experience, electrocortical markers of focused attention, and psychological factors including openness and absorption, significantly correlated in predicted ways with perturbations in the double-slit interference pattern. The results appear to be consistent with a consciousness-related interpretation of the quantum measurement problem. 2012 Physics Essays Publication. (DOI: 10.4006/0836-1398-25.2.157) R ´ esum ´

Advanced meditators occasionally report experiences of timelessness, or states of awareness that seem to transcend the usual boundaries of the subjective present. This type of experience was investigated in eight experienced meditators and eight matched controls by measuring 32 channels of EEG before, during, and after exposure to unpredictable light and sound stimuli. The experiment postulated that if some aspect of consciousness extends beyond the present moment, then prestimulus electrocortical signals should differ depending on stimuli that were about to be selected by a truly random process, and that if such experiences were catalyzed through meditation practice, then prestimulus differences should be more apparent in meditators than in nonmeditators. Each of the 32 EEG channels was baseline adjusted on each trial by the electrical potential averaged between two- and one-second prestimulus, then for each channel the average potential was determined from one-second prestimulus to stimulus onset. The resulting means across subjects in each group were compared by stimulus type using randomized permutation procedures and corrected for multiple comparisons. Within the control group, no EEG channels showed significant prestimulus differences between light versus sound stimulus conditions, but within the meditator group five of 32 channels resulted in significant differences (P < .05, two tailed). Comparisons between control and meditator groups showed significant prestimulus differences prior to audio tone stimuli in 14 of 32 channels (P < .05, two tailed, of which eight channels were P < .005, two tailed). This outcome successfully replicates effects reported in earlier experiments, suggesting that sometimes the subjective sense of awareness extending into the future may be ontologically accurate.