Implausible paraneuroscience - A commentary on Freedman et al. (2023)

Abstract

A recent study (Freedman et al., 2023) claims that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the frontal cortex enables paranormal “Psi” abilities in human participants. They could apparently influence the output of an external random number generator by focusing their mind, effectively willing an arrow shown on a screen to move. I was initially surprised to see this study published in Cortex, the very journal that first brought the world the Registered Reports format (Chambers, 2013) and which is widely regarded as a pioneer of rigorous open science practices1. But in the interest of academic freedom, researchers should have space to pursue seemingly crazy hypotheses, provided the research is ethical. Blocking research simply because it doesn’t conform to our current understanding would be committing the same hubris that led past scholars to reject tectonic plates or germ theory. That said, irrespective of its parapsychological nature, there are considerable problems with the scientific validity of this study.