Participate in IONS Research

The purpose of this study is to learn whether reported psychic abilities are associated with brain structure. If you are age 13 or above and have received a brain MRI scan, you may be able to participate. The study involves:

1. Completing an online survey asking about questions related to personality traits, psychic ability, and mental health.
2. Uploading the files of your brain scan from your computer, CD/USB , or patient portal

Study activities will take about 5-10 minutes. Participants who complete all study activities can explore a 3D model of their brain online.

Click here to create a secure account and participate in the study

learn how to get a brain MRI scan for free

learn How to obtain a brain MRI scan at an affordable price

The study is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Spiro Pantazatos at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI IRB #7644).

Have you ever had a spiritual or transcendent experience? It might be noetic.

In a noetic experience, someone receives information or energy from beyond the conventional notions of space and time. An experience of oneness or peace, a message from a deceased relative, a mind-to-mind communication with another person — these are all noetic experiences.

At IONS, we are seeking to better understand these relatively common occurrences.

Want to help? We are collecting these experiences in the Noetic EXperiences Archive (NEXA).

To participate, you must be 18 years of age or older, able to read and write in English, and to fully understand and consent to the study activities. No compensation.

SUBMIT YOUR NOETIC EXPERIENCE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT

Principal investigator Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR, IRB# WAHH_2021_02, 04/12/2021

Do psychic abilities have a genetic component?

The purpose of this study is to learn whether reported psychic abilities are associated with specific genes or genetic networks. If you are a healthy adult and have access to your genetic data through a direct-to-consumer company like 23andMe or Ancestry.com, you may be able to participate. The study involves:

1. Attaching a file with the genetic raw data you received from the direct-to-consumer company.
2. Completing an online survey asking about questions related to psychic ability.

Study activities will take about 30-40 minutes. Participants who complete all study activities will have the chance to enter a drawing to receive an iPad (current generation).

Learn More

Principal investigator Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR, IRB# WAHH_2016_02, 06/04/2020

Many people have had precognitive dreams or successful intuitive hunches and ask themselves: Do I have psychic or psi abilities?

GotPsi is a simple way to explore these abilities through a suite of psi tests based on techniques similar to those used in more formal laboratory experiments. The tests are fun (and valid) and you’ll get immediate feedback about your performance. There are also various “Halls of Fame” where you can compare your performance with others.

Click to Explore Your Psi Abilities

Principal investigator Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR, study IRB# WAH_2018_05, 03/01/2021

Projects by IONS Fellow Rupert Sheldrake, PhD*

The Joint Attention Test

Can you tell when someone is looking at the same photo you are?

Joint attention is the shared focus of two or more individuals on the same object. Detecting the direction of another person’s gaze plays a major role in establishing joint attention. The purpose of this research is to find out if joint attention involves a kind of mental resonance that can be felt by people looking at the same thing, even if they are many miles apart.

This experiment requires two people and takes less than five minutes to complete. One of you registers a group name, then you both log in at a prearranged time. In each of 12 trials you’ll be randomly shown either the same picture or different ones. After 10 seconds, you’ll be asked “Was your partner looking at the same picture?” In half the trials you’ll do the guessing while your partner concentrates on the image, then in the second half you’ll reverse roles.

Take the Joint Attention Test

Waking Before Alarm Clocks Go Off

Have you ever woken just before your alarm clock goes off? What about waking before unscheduled disturbances?

IONS Fellow, Rupert Sheldrake, is conducting exciting new research around this common but mysterious phenomenon, which may be a form of pre-sentiment precognition. He is interested in hearing from those who have had experiences of waking just before unexpected alarms, such as fire alarms, or any other unscheduled disturbance. Watch a brief (4 min) video about the experiment and learn how you can participate by sharing your own experiences.

Watch Video

*Please note that these projects are not being overseen by a research ethics committee.

Projects by IONS Fellow Peter Bancel

Psi@Home

The Psi@Home project connects volunteers from around the world with researchers investigating psi – those familiar, yet furtive, experiences such as premonitions and synchronicities that defy scientific explanation to this day. Research studies of psi effects are often carried out in laboratory settings with volunteer subjects. However, the necessity of traveling to the lab limits who can participate. The Psi@Home project uses a downloadable app that allows people to participate in psi experiments in their own home, at any location, and at any time.

Psi@Home is currently seeking volunteers for several distinct cohorts. If you would like to learn more about becoming a cohort member, further information is available at this website. We hope you will consider participating. Participation is easy and fun. It’s also a way that you can help researchers broaden the horizons of science.

Learn More