Autonomous neural network activation during religious worship experiences using heart rate variability measurements

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that religious experiences in worship demand an attentional control that facilitates the desired state of mind, and that there is a systemic activation of a person’s peripheral physiology at play. The present validation study hypothesized that the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is activated during the experience. For this, 60 participants took part in an experiment with some religious and secular conditions where they worshipped God and indicated how strongly they sensed the presence of God. Electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements were taken to analyze the activity of the autonomous nervous network (ANS) through the heart rate variability (HRV) and to compare it to the religious experience. Our results show that there appears to be a recruitment of the SNS, confirming our working hypothesis. However, there is a negative association of Baevsky’s stress index (SI) with the experience, suggesting that the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is co-recruited, although to a lesser degree.