# Could I Make My Own God Helmet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472 "2009-02-04T21:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/1 "2009-02-04T21:11:32Z")
I’ve seen mentioned here and there that mystical experiences have been induced in laboratory conditions by the application of magnetic fields to specific parts of the brain. The apparatus used to do this was jokingly called a “god helmet.” Would there be a way for someone to make their own god helmet at home? Preferably safely? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/2 "2009-02-05T03:01:39Z")
Any links to this research? The only place I’ve heard or such a thing is in a sci-fi book. Robert Sawyer’s Hybrids. I would like to know if any thing like this has actually been done. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/3 "2009-02-05T03:08:29Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > Any links to this research? The only place I’ve heard or such a thing is in a sci-fi book. Robert Sawyer’s Hybrids. I would like to know if any thing like this has actually been done. > **[Transcranial magnetic stimulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation)** > > Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive neurostimulation technique in which a changing magnetic field is used to induce an electric current in a targeted area of the brain through electromagnetic induction. A device called a stimulator generates electric pulses that are delivered to a magnetic coil placed against the scalp. The resulting magnetic field penetrates the skull and induces a secondary electric current in the underlying brain tissue, modulating neural activity. > Medi... Since 1985 or so. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/4 "2009-02-05T03:10:24Z")
> **[God helmet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_helmet)** > > The God helmet is an experimental apparatus originally called the Koren helmet after its inventor Stanley Koren. It was developed by Koren and neuroscientist Michael Persinger to study creativity, religious experience and the effects of subtle stimulation of the temporal lobes. Reports by participants of a "sensed presence" while wearing the God helmet brought public attention and resulted in several TV documentaries. The device has been used in Persinger's research in the field of neurothe Persi... ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/5 "2009-02-05T04:04:11Z")
Thanks. Fascinating. Flip a switch see God. **Frylock** if you get it to work, let me try it? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/6 "2009-02-05T05:16:20Z")
It looks like you could, but (and this is just the gist of the wikipedia article), you’d pretty much need to be really lucky or have a degree in neuroscience (or a how-to guide by someone who has one I guess) to get the right magnets in the right places. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/7 "2009-02-05T08:19:42Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > It looks like you could, but (and this is just the gist of the wikipedia article), you’d pretty much need to be really lucky or have a degree in neuroscience (or a how-to guide by someone who has one I guess) to get the right magnets in the right places. Or at least, not disrupt some critical area of brain function while trying to find somewhere interesting to tickle. I saw a reporter doing a spot on TCMS - the neurologist disrupted his ability to write for a few seconds at a time. It was interesting, but there was a small risk of triggering an epileptic fit. Si ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-god-helmet/484472/8 "2009-02-05T11:00:14Z")
Neurotheology? You know, the only reason I am not an expert on anything is because I haven’t invented my own field.