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Dear Jennifer, Many fairly technical studies in neuroscience & psychopharmacology offer explanations of ecstatic states, the effects of serotonin on perception, & similar matters. You might also find Marcus Boon, The Road of Excess: A History of Writers on Drugs (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2002) to be of some use. Best of luck! Michael Winkelman Assistant Professor of Renaissance English Literature Johnson State College, Vermont ---------------------------------------- > Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 21:51:58 -0400 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: medicine and mysticism > To: [log in to unmask] > >> Dear list: >> >> Can anyone suggest a reliable, scholarly evaluation of the (I think >> mostly popular?) theory that the spiritual experiences of medieval >> mystics may have had physiological causes? >> >> (I am currently working as a dramaturge with Rosa Laborde, an up-and- >> coming Canadian playwright - her play Léo toured Canada this year >> and was nominated for a Governor General's Award - I recommend it! >> Rosa's current project - in very early drafts - is about a medical >> historian and his daughter, who are experiencing mystical visions.) >> >> Many thanks! >> >> Jennifer >> >> >> Jennifer Roberts-Smith, PhD >> Assistant Professor, Drama >> University of Waterloo >> >> Modern Languages Building 131A >> 200 University Avenue West >> Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1 >> 519-888-4567 ext. 35785 >> fax: 519-725-0651 >> [log in to unmask] >> >> >> _________________________________________________________________ Stay in touch when you're away with Windows Live Messenger. http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refresh_messenger_05200