Scientific American has published in its October 2007 issue a lengthy review of past and present neurophysiological research - using everything from EEG to fMRI and everything in between - in the scientific quest to understand God's interactions with human beings. Or maybe just understand human beings' communion with God.

Searching for God in the Brain covers the spectrum of scientific interpretations of the findings too. From those who dismiss the evidence as anything but errant brain states to those who think it may be possible to use the knowledge to help people overcome depression, enjoy their lives more, even better their chances for defeating dread diseases that science already knows happens more often in people of faith than in people who have no spiritual leanings or ties.

The article online is 6 pages long and it takes some time to go through it. Some choice citations:

Such efforts to reveal the neural correlates of the divine"”a new discipline with the warring titles "neurotheology" and "spiritual neuroscience""”not only might reconcile religion and science but also might help point to ways of eliciting pleasurable otherworldly feelings in people who do not have them or who cannot summon them at will. Because of the positive effect of such experiences on those who have them, some researchers speculate that the ability to induce them artificially could transform people's lives by making them happier, healthier and better able to concentrate. Ultimately, however, neuroscientists study this question because they want to better understand the neural basis of a phenomenon that plays a central role in the lives of so many. "These experiences have existed since the dawn of humanity. They have been reported across all cultures," Beauregard says. "It is as important to study the neural basis of [religious] experience as it is to investigate the neural basis of emotion, memory or language."

and…

The quantity and diversity of brain regions involved in the nuns' religious experience point to the complexity of the phenomenon of spirituality. "There is no single God spot, localized uniquely in the temporal lobe of the human brain," Beauregard concludes. "These states are mediated by a neural network that is well distributed throughout the brain."

On the possible benefits to be derived from such research…

Meditation may even delay certain signs of aging in the brain, according to preliminary work by neuroscientist Sara Lazar of Harvard University and her colleagues. A 2005 paper in NeuroReport noted that 20 experienced meditators showed increased thickness in certain brain regions relative to 15 subjects who did not meditate. In particular, the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula were between four and eight thousandths of an inch thicker in the meditators; the oldest of these subjects boasted the greatest increase in thickness, the reverse of the usual process of aging. Newberg is now investigating whether meditation can alleviate stress and sadness in cancer patients or expand the cognitive capacities of people with early memory loss.

Artificially replicating meditative trances or other spiritual states might be similarly beneficial to the mind, brain and body. Beauregard and others argue, for example, that such mystical mimicry might improve immune system function, stamp out depression or just provide a more positive outlook on life. The changes could be lasting and even transformative. "We could generate a healthy, optimal brain template," Paquette says. "If someone has a bad brain, how can they get a good brain? It's really [a potential way to] rewire our brain." Religious faith also has inherent worldly rewards, of course. It brings contentment, and charitable works motivated by such faith bring others happiness.

And, in conclusion…

Moreover, no matter what neural correlates scientists may find, the results cannot prove or disprove the existence of God. Although atheists might argue that finding spirituality in the brain implies that religion is nothing more than divine delusion, the nuns were thrilled by their brain scans for precisely the opposite reason: they seemed to provide confirmation of God's interactions with them. After all, finding a cerebral source for spiritual experiences could serve equally well to identify the medium through which God reaches out to humanity. Thus, the nuns' forays into the tubular brain scanner did not undermine their faith. On the contrary, the science gave them an even greater reason to believe.

Rather nice of author David Biello to include that last disclaimer. They're just trying to figure out how it works in people who have spiritual experiences so they can replicate it for those who don't have spiritual experiences. For the health and social benefits, of course. Believers should be delighted to submit their spirituality to this sort of intensive scientific testing. After all, it's not like any actual scientist would attempt to develop a 'cure' for it rather than an Ecstasy 2.0 pill that would allow the spiritually incapable to enjoy the benefits without the commitment or the work…

Maybe they'll call it "God in a Bottle."

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 13th, 2007 at 8:07 pm and is filed under Brain, Evidence, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. The trackback link is: http://telicthoughts.com/the-neural-correlates-of-god/trackback/