Neural Correlates of Personalized Spiritual Experiences

Cerebral Cortex
Lisa MillerMarc N Potenza

Abstract

Across cultures and throughout history, human beings have reported a variety of spiritual experiences and the concomitant perceived sense of union that transcends one's ordinary sense of self. Nevertheless, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms of spiritual experiences, particularly when examined across different traditions and practices. By adapting an individualized guided-imagery task, we investigated neural correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences as compared with stressful and neutral-relaxing experiences. We observed in the spiritual condition, as compared with the neutral-relaxing condition, reduced activity in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), a result that suggests the IPL may contribute importantly to perceptual processing and self-other representations during spiritual experiences. Compared with stress cues, responses to spiritual cues showed reduced activity in the medial thalamus and caudate, regions associated with sensory and emotional processing. Overall, the study introduces a novel method for investigating brain correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences and suggests neural mechanisms associated with broadly defined and personally experienced spirituality.

References

Jan 1, 1990·Neuropsychobiology·H HerzogL E Feinendegen
May 1, 2001·The European Journal of Neuroscience·N P AzariR J Seitz
Jul 14, 2001·International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·F Travis
Feb 1, 2003·Biological Psychiatry·Ruth A LaniusRavi S Menon
May 22, 2003·Neuropsychologia·Olivier FelicianMichel Poncet
Dec 6, 2003·Consciousness and Cognition·Albert Newen, Kai Vogeley
Dec 9, 2003·Brain Research. Cognitive Brain Research·Dirk T LeubeTilo T J Kircher
Dec 10, 2003·Current Opinion in Neurobiology·Marc A Sommer
Apr 21, 2004·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Hans C LouSarah H Lisanby
Jan 29, 2005·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·Rajita SinhaBruce E Wexler
Mar 17, 2005·Neuropsychologia·Mark MühlauHenning Boecker
Apr 30, 2005·Science·Leonardo FogassiGiacomo Rizzolatti
Aug 2, 2005·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Anthony D WagnerRandy L Buckner
Mar 16, 2006·Psychological Bulletin·B Rael Cahn, John Polich
Jul 29, 2006·Neuroscience Letters·Mario Beauregard, Vincent Paquette
Jun 29, 2007·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·J A Brefczynski-LewisR J Davidson
Nov 30, 2007·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Alain Morin
Nov 6, 2008·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Norman A S FarbAdam K Anderson
Nov 19, 2008·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Arnaud D'ArgembeauEric Salmon
Feb 2, 2012·The American Journal of Psychiatry·Marc N PotenzaRajita Sinha
Jan 29, 2013·Social Neuroscience·Elisabetta MazzarellaAntonia Hamilton
Jan 9, 2014·Journal of the Neurological Sciences·Silmar TeixeiraJulio Guilherme Silva
Mar 13, 2014·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Cristiano CrescentiniCosimo Urgesi
Jan 9, 2015·Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·James ElseyMarc N Potenza
Feb 1, 2015·European Neuropsychopharmacology : the Journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology·José Carlos BousoJordi Riba
Dec 18, 2015·BMJ : British Medical Journal·Anders HougaardBryan T Haddock
Apr 16, 2016·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·H C LouA Rosenstand
Jul 20, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Rajita SinhaDongju Seo
Jul 22, 2016·Annual Review of Neuroscience·Winrich FreiwaldGalit Yovel
Aug 9, 2016·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Dongju SeoRajita Sinha
Nov 12, 2016·Social Neuroscience·Michael A FergusonJeffrey S Anderson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

May 30, 2019·NPJ Primary Care Respiratory Medicine·Irini GergianakiIoanna Tsiligianni
Jun 12, 2020·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Golnaz Tabibnia
Dec 15, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Alexandra KitsonBernhard E Riecke
Jul 16, 2021·Psychiatry Research. Neuroimaging·Lisa MillerMyrna M Weissman
Jul 3, 2021·Substance Abuse : Official Publication of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse·Marc GalanterMarc N Potenza

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

The American Journal of Psychiatry
H Farkas
The Ceylon Medical Journal
S Seneviratne Epa
The Practitioner
G REINDORP
The Journal of Nursing Care
L A Beakman
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved