Neural correlates of religious experience.
N P Azari, J Nickel, G Wunderlich, M Niedeggen, H Hefter, L Tellmann, H Herzog, P Stoerig, D Birnbacher, R J Seitz
European Journal of Neuroscience April 1, 2001 DOI: 10.1046/j.0953-816x.2001.01527.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Functional neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Self-identified religious subjects |
| Intervention | religious recitation |
| Key points | Religious experience activates a frontal-parietal circuit involved in reflexive evaluation of thought, suggesting it is a cognitive process that feels immediate. |
Abstract
The commonsense view of religious experience is that it is a preconceptual, immediate affective event. Work in philosophy and psychology, however, suggest that religious experience is an attributional cognitive phenomenon. Here the neural correlates of a religious experience are investigated using functional neuroimaging. During religious recitation, self-identified religious subjects activated a frontal-parietal circuit, composed of the dorsolateral prefrontal, dorsomedial frontal and medial parietal cortex. Prior studies indicate that these areas play a profound role in sustaining reflexive evaluation of thought. Thus, religious experience may be a cognitive process which, nonetheless, feels immediate.
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- The Neural Correlates of Religious and Nonreligious Belief PLoS One September 30, 2009
- NEAR‐DEATH EXPERIENCES AND SPIRITUALITY Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science June 2, 2006
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