Scientific Examination of the Visionaries of Medjugorje in Ecstasy (I)

How can we objectivity judge a vision to which only the “visionary” testifies? In Lourdes, Doctor Dozous put Bernadette's fingers in contact with the flame of his candle, with no reaction on her part; in Soufanieh (Damascus) similarly, a surgeon made a cut under Myrna's fingernail until it bled! People have also poked or tried to disturb the visionaries at times, but the surest results seem to have been found in Medjugorje thanks to the electro-encephalograms (EEG) and electro-oculograms carried out in 1984 by French Professor Joyeux and Italian ARPA teams. The EEG measured by electrodes placed on the scalp identify the currents produced permanently by the nervous system: in the waking state, one distinguishes two types of frequencies: the beta rhythm from 14 to 45 Hz, of rather low amplitude, which occupies the frontal and middle areas of the two cerebral hemispheres, at the time of thought, mathematical calculation and physical activity; and the alpha rhythm, from 8 to 13 Hz, of higher amplitude, with an aspect often with peak-like waves, which is especially found in the posterior areas. It appears when the eyes are closed or the body at rest, i.e. during times of relaxation or meditation and it disappears or is reduced when the eyes are open, or during times of mental effort, especially visual attention. Sleep rhythms are clearly recognizable, as well as any pathological aspects (confusional syndrome, epilepsy, cerebral lesion, encephalitis, comatose, etc). But in Medjugorje, the EEG practiced on Maria, Ivanka and Ivan reveal a particular but non-pathological fact. The young people record a predominance of alpha rhythms during the ecstasy extending into the frontal areas, while their eyes were closed and their attention captivated by the apparition as their fixed stare suggests. This state is impossible to simulate and resembles a deep trance in which they enter and then suddenly leave, without a transitional phase. Their brain is awake but “relaxed” - and does not have any usual perception of reality during the entire time of the ecstasy.