Why we publish papers reporting findings we may not believe

This volume of Cortex includes a paper (Freedman et al.) that reported evidence that an aspect of Psi may be possible under specific experimental conditions. The authors hypothesized that Psi could be inhibited by frontal lobe processes and used rTMS to reduce cortical excitability in the frontal lobes following the logic that such reduction would improve Psi capabilities. There are many studies that have used this rationale to investigate cognitive control processes. Despite the apparently supernatural theory articulated by Freedman et al, the experiment seemed to have been carefully conducted, and was well reported, so it was sent for external review. After two rounds of revision, the reviewers and the action editor were reasonably satisfied with the changes made, including several caveats to the conclusions of the study, and eventually the paper was approved for publication.