ArticleFrontiers in psychology2025
Single-case report: dynamic changes in cardiac function during shamanic journeying and Qigong meditation.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Introduction: Previous studies have demonstrated acute changes in brain activity that occur during shamanic journeying-an ancient spiritual practice used for physical, psychological, and spiritual healing. However, the effect of shamanic journeying on other physiological measures, such as heart rate variability, remains unknown. We investigated changes in heart rate variability (HRV) during sessions of shamanic journeying ( Methods: Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals were recorded and compared between various events during the shamanic journeys (e.g., rest, drumming, shapeshift, post-shapeshift), as well as during periods of rest and Qigong meditation. ECG signals were first visualized using the Electrocardiomatrix (ECM) software and further quantified using the following HRV measures: beats per minute (BPM), average RR interval (AVRR), standard deviation of RR interval (SDRR), root mean square of successive RR interval differences (RMSSD), and the percentage of successive RR intervals that differ by more than 50 milliseconds (pNN50). Segments > 65 s were evaluated for frequency measures, including the absolute power of the low (LF: 0.04-0.15 Hz) and high (HF: 0.15-0.4 Hz) frequency bands and the ratio of LF to HF power (LF/HF ratio). Results: The start of shamanic drumming decreased BPM and increased AVRR (compared to rest), as well as increased SDRR, RMSSD, pNN50, LF power, and LF/HF ratio. Upon shapeshifting, BPM, SDRR, and RMSSD all increased and AVRR decreased. BPM remained elevated (and AVRR remained decreased) during the first post-shapeshift period, while the LF/HF ratio decreased. The LF/HF ratio decreased further in the second post-shapeshift period, while HF power and pNN50 were increased compared to drumming initiation. Qigong meditation also increased SDRR, RMSSD, pNN50, LF power, HF power, and the LF/HF ratio compared to rest. Changes in SDRR, LF power, and LF/HF ratio during Qigong meditation were greater than those induced by drumming initiation, while changes in BPM and AVRR were greater during drumming initiation. Discussion: These data suggest that shamanic journeying involves dynamic, widespread changes in cardiac function and physiology that can be tracked visually in the ECM and captured by ultra-short-term HRV.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.