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
The European journal of neuroscience April 1, 2001 DOI: 10.1046/j.0953-816x.2001.01527.x (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractReligious experience, often thought of as a direct, emotional event, may actually be a cognitive process involving evaluation of one's own thoughts. Using functional neuroimaging, brain activity during religious recitation in self-identified religious subjects showed activation in a frontal-parietal circuit—the dorsolateral prefrontal, dorsomedial frontal, and medial parietal cortex. These areas are known to support reflexive evaluation of thought. This suggests that religious experience, while feeling immediate, may arise from cognitive appraisal.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Functional neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Self-identified religious subjects |
| Intervention | religious recitation |
| Key finding | 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.