Do identical twins show anomalous physiological connectedness?
Quick Summary
A small but distinctive research program tests whether monozygotic twins who report exceptional telepathic experiences show anomalous physiological synchrony when one twin receives stimuli while the other is isolated.
The paradigm uses polygraph monitoring (electrodermal, pulse, breathing, blood pressure) with a blinded expert attempting to identify stimulus windows from the remote twin's physiological record.
Two pilot studies (Copenhagen and London) report that approximately 1 in 4 screened twin pairs show significant synchrony, though overall results are marginally significant.
Current Consensus
This is the smallest evidence base in the library for any controversy: two pilot studies (Copenhagen and London) totaling 8 twin pairs and 14 sessions. Both studies found that approximately 1 in 4 screened pairs showed significant physiological synchrony, but overall results were marginally significant at best. The strongest finding came from the Copenhagen study's monochorionic-monoamnionic twin pair (sharing same placenta and amnion cavity), which has led to speculation about embryonic entanglement. The London study had methodological limitations compared to Copenhagen (iPhone SMS timing vs. atomic clocks, no inter-rater reliability check). The key missing elements are: (1) independent replication by a laboratory other than Parker/Jensen, (2) larger sample sizes with pre-registered analysis plans, and (3) exploration of whether the monochorionic-monoamnionic subgroup shows systematically stronger effects. The Duane (1965) EEG study in Science provides historical precedent but used different methodology. This controversy remains in the exploratory pilot-study phase.
Evidence Breakdown
Based on 9 papersSupporting Evidence
Entangled in the Womb? A Pilot Study on the Possible Physiological Connectedness Between Identical Twins
Jensen & Parker (2012) -- "Entangled in the Womb?" pre-registered pilot study with 4 pairs of identical twins (3 usable); one twin received 5 randomized startle stimuli while the isolated twin was ...
Further Possible Physiological Connectedness Between Identical Twins: The London Study
Parker & Jensen (2013) -- London replication attempt with four pairs of twins selected via Exceptional Experiences Questionnaire; forced-choice protocol with 24 assessed trials yielded 6 hits vs. 3...
Patterns of Interhemispheric Correlation During Human Communication
Grinberg-Zylberbaum & Ramos (1987) -- Interhemispheric EEG correlation patterns become similar (rβ0.80) during direct communication without sensory contact in 13 pairs of subjects; intersubject EEG...
Extrasensory Electroencephalographic Induction between Identical Twins
Duane & Behrendt (1965) -- "Extrasensory Electroencephalographic Induction Between Identical Twins"; EEG alpha rhythm correlations between separated identical twins; one twin received stimuli while...
Evidence of Correlated Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Signals Between Distant Human Brains
Standish et al. (2003) -- First fMRI demonstration of correlated brain signals between distant subjects: receiver in Faraday-shielded 1.5T MRI scanner showed significant BOLD activation (P < .001) ...
Correlations between brain electrical activities of two spatially separated human subjects
Wackermann et al. (2003) -- Six-channel EEG recorded from 14 pairs (7 related, 7 unrelated) in shielded rooms; non-parametric randomization statistics showed outlier counts in non-stimulated subjec...
EEG Correlates of Social Interaction at Distance
Tressoldi et al. (2016) -- EEG brain-to-brain interaction study extending the twin paradigm to non-twin adult meditator pairs (6 participants, 25 sessions); novel GW6 inter-electrode correlation al...
Replicable Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evidence of Correlated Brain Signals Between Physically and Sensory Isolated Subjects
Richards et al. (2005) -- fMRI and EEG study at Bastyr/UW Consciousness Science Lab: one pre-selected pair (from 30 EEG pairs) showed significant BOLD activation in visual cortex (BA 17/18/19) corr...
Critical Evidence
*[No direct skeptical replications or critiques of the twin physiological connectedness paradigm are currently in the library. The main limitations are the very small sample sizes (4 twin pairs per...
*[No direct skeptical replications or critiques of the twin physiological connectedness paradigm are currently in the library. The main limitations are the very small sample sizes (4 twin pairs per...
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