The neuroscience of trance

From the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, July 10, 2015. An excerpt:

"The analyses revealed a great deal about connectivity in the shamans’ brains—that is, the functional links between regions of their brains—during trance. The scientists noted, for example, increased connectivity in the posterior cingulate cortex, a major default network hub involved in internally directed thought, as well as in the insula and anterior cingulate cortex, two core control network regions. Co-activation of these areas points to the control network playing a role in maintaining an extended internally directed state during trance."