what god does to your brain - telegraph

6/26/2014 What God does to your brain - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10914137/What-God-does-to-your-brain.html 1/6

WhatGoddoestoyourbrain

Thecontroversialscienceofneurotheologyaimstofindtheanswertoanageoldquestion:whydowebelieve?

The'Godhelmet'(left)issaidtouseelectricalimpulsestorecreatereligiousexperiences

ByJuliaLlewellynSmith

5:00PMBST20Jun2014

WhenneuroscientistAndrewNewbergscannedthebrainofKevin,astaunchatheist,whilehewasmeditating,hemadeafascinatingdiscovery.ComparedwiththeBuddhistmonksandFranciscannuns,whosebrainsIdalsoscanned,Kevinsbrainoperatedinasignificantlydifferentway,hesays.

Hehadfarmoreactivityintheprefrontalcortex,theareathatcontrolsemotionalfeelingsandmediatesattention.Kevinsbrainappearedtobefunctioninginahighlyanalyticalway,evenwhenhewasinarestingstate.

WouldNewbergfindsomethingsimilarifhescannedmybrain?I,too,amanatheist.Thisislargelytheresultofmyupbringing(myfatherisatheoreticalphysicist,who,asaformerdirectorgeneralofCern,setuptheLargeHadronColliderthatissearchingfortheHiggsboson,orsocalledGodparticlethoughmanyphysicistsloathethatphrase),butalsoofprolongedinvestigationsintootherreligionstoseeifIwasmissingsomethingcentralto



billionsofpeopleworldwide.

Inthisspirit,severalyearsago,IattendedanAlphacourse,a10weekintroductiontoevangelicalChristianity.Itutterlyfailedtoconvincemebut,duringaservice,anotherrecruit,Mark,felltohisknees,babblingintongues.Whenhecameround,hewasconvincedhehadbeenpossessedbytheHolySpirit.Iwatched,bemused.Whyhadheenteredthistranscendentalstate,whileIwascompletelyunmoved?Washedeluded,orwashegenuinelyaconduitofGod?Orwereourbrainssimplywireddifferently?

IANMCEWAN:'Religiousparentsmakebaddecisions'

Whenpeoplespeakintongues,theyregone,theyreinacompletelyalteredstate.Butmostofthetimetheyrenormalpeoplelikeus,withjobsandchildrentheydontshowanysignofbeingdelusional,saysNewberg.ScansoftheirbrainswhentheyrepossessedshowverydifferentresultstoscansofBuddhistmonksorCarmelitenunsinprayerormeditation.Thereyouseeincreasedfrontallobeactivityintheareasconcernedwithconcentration,butthespeakersintongueshaddecreasedactivityinthesamearea,whichwouldgivethemthesensationthatsomeoneelsewasrunningtheshow.

Andwhataboutme?Iwouldntbesurprisedifyouhaveahardertimelettinggooffrontallobeactivity,soyoutendtoobserveandtakeamorecriticaleyeofevents,whileotherpeoplesbrainsallowthemtosimplysurrendertoeventsaroundthem.

NewbergisdirectorofresearchattheJeffersonMyrnaBrindCentreofIntegrativeMedicine,inPhiladelphia,andcoauthorof,amongotherbooks,TheMetaphysicalMind:ProbingtheBiologyofPhilosophicalThought.Heisaleadingneurotheologist,pioneeringanewandhighlycontroversialsciencethatinvestigateswhetherasmanyscepticshavelongsuspectedGoddidntcreateus,butwecreatedGod.

Duringbrainscansofthoseinvolvedinvarioustypesofmeditationandprayer,Newbergnoticedincreasedactivityinthelimbicsystem,whichregulatesemotion.Healsonoteddecreasedactivityintheparietallobe,thepartofthebrainresponsiblefororientingoneselfinspaceandtime.

Whenthishappens,youloseyoursenseofself,hesays.Youhaveanotionofagreatinterconnectednessofthings.Itcouldbeasensewheretheselfdissolvesintonothingness,ordissolvesintoGodortheuniverse.

Suchmystical,selfblurringexperiencesarecentraltoalmostallreligionsfromtheuniomysticaexperiencedbyCarmelitenunsduringprayer,whentheyclaimtheirsoulhasmingled



withthegodhead,toBuddhistsstrivingforunitywiththeuniversethroughfocusingonsacredobjects.ButifNewbergandhiscolleaguesarecorrect,suchexperiencesarenotproofofbeingtouchedbyasupremebeing,butmereblipsinbrainchemistry.

Itseemsthatthebrainisbuiltinsuchawaythatallowsusashumanbeingstohavetranscendentexperiencesextremelyeasily,furtheringourbeliefinagreaterpower,Newbergsays.Thiswouldexplainwhysometypeofreligionexistsineveryculture,arguablymakingspiritualityoneofthedefiningcharacteristicsofourspecies.

Dependingonyourreligiousviews,suchdiscoveriesareeitherdeeplyfascinatingorprofoundlydisturbing.Throughouthistory,spiritualityhasbeenviewedassomethingoutsidescience,justasthesoulisseparatefromthebodybothineffableessences,transcendingthematerialistuniverse.

Nowonder,then,thatneurotheology(orbiotheology),withitsimplicationsthatthebrainismerelyacomputerofmeat,ishugelycontentiousintheUS,whereonly1.6percentand2.4percentofthepopulationdeclarethemselvesatheistoragnostic,respectively.

Sometheologians,however,welcometheresearch,seeingitasproofthatGodequippedourbodieswiththeabilitytobelieve.

Igetattackedbyeveryone,saysPatrickMcNamara,associateprofessorofneurologyatBostonUniversityandauthorofTheNeuroscienceofReligiousExperience.AtheistshatemebecauseImsayingreligionhassomebasisinthebrainandfundamentalistChristianshatemebecauseImsayingreligionisnothingbutbrainimpulses.

GrahamWard,RegiusProfessorofDivinityatOxfordUniversityandauthoroftheforthcomingUnbelievable:WhyWeBelieveandWhyWeDont,isscepticalaboutmanyneuroscientificattemptstoexplainGod,pointingoutthatrecentadvanceshaveweakenedthetheorythatonlyoneareaofthebrainisresponsibleforcertainfunctions.Inanycase,hesays,thetemporallobeslightupforanykindofexcitement,notjustreligiousexperience.

However,heagreesthatitisimperativetoexaminereligionscientifically.Religionisattherootbothofsomanygreatcivilisationsandofsomanywars,ithassomuchmythologicalpower,wehavetounderstandhowitworksandbealerttohowdangerousitcanbe.

Ifreligionismerelyaproductofthemind,thenperhapsitseffectscanbesimulatedartificiallywithpotentiallypowerfulresults.IntheNineties,CanadiancognitiveneuroscientistMichaelPersingerinventedaGodhelmet,which,heclaimed,simulatedreligiousexperiencesbydirectingcomplexmagneticfieldstothepartsofthebrainthatincludetheparietallobe.



EvangelicalChristiansdemonstratedoutsidethelabwherePersingertestedthehelmet,outragedathissuggestionthatGodcouldbereplicatedviaamachine.Butmorethan80percentofthosewhoworethehelmetreportedsensingapresenceintheroomthatmanytooktobetheirdeity.Theyalsobecamedeeplyemotionaland,aftertheexperiment,werefilledwithasenseofloss.

READ:NunsproveGodisNOTafigmentofthemind

ThisledPersingertoconcludethatdivinevisionsnottomentioneveryothertypeofoutofbodyexperience,fromtheVirginMarybeingvisitedbytheHolySpirittoUFOsightingswereprobablynothingmorethanpeoplebeingsubjectedtoenergyfieldsconnectedtoshiftsintheEarthsplatesorenvironmentaldisturbances.

In2001,Persingertriedthehelmetonpossiblytheworldsmostvocalatheist,ProfRichardDawkins,whoreportedthathisbreathingandsensationinhislimbswereaffected,butinsistedhehadnotseenGod.Stillupbeat,PersingerarguedthatearliertestshadshownDawkinshadfarlesssensitivitythanothersinthetemporallobes.

PersingervsDawkins:TheGodHelmetfromTommyDecentralizedonVimeo.

Or,perhapsDawkinsissimplylackingtheGodgeneorVMAT2,tobeprecise,thatcontrolstheflowofmoodregulatingchemicals,calledmonoamines,inthebrain.AccordingtoUSmoleculargeneticistDrDeanHamer,subjectswiththisgeneweremoresusceptibletoselftranscendent,spiritualexperiences.Manyneuroscientistsnowthinkspiritualtendenciesinvolvegenesrelatingtothebrainsdopamineandserotoninneurotransmitters.

Another,morerecent,studybyresearchersatAuburnUniversityinAlabamashowedthatsubjectswhoperceivedsupernaturalagentsatworkintheirdailylivestendedtousebrainpathwaysassociatedwithfearwhenaskedtocontemplatetheirreligiousbeliefs.Thosewithbeliefsbasedondoctrinetendedtousepathwaysassociatedwithlanguage.Ontheotherhand,atheiststendedtousepathwaysconnectedwithvisualimagery.

Perhaps,theteamsuggested,nonbelieverstryvisuallytoimagineasupernaturalagentasatestofitsexistenceandsubsequentlyrejecttheideaasunlikelywhenthatimagedoesnotfitwithanyknownimageintheirmemory.

Theresearchersalsofoundindividualswithastrongerabilitytoattributementalstatessuchasbeliefs,desiresandintentstothemselvesandtounderstandthatothersmayhavedifferent



mentalstatesfromtheirown.Thisability,knownasthetheoryofmind,isthoughttohaveevolvedinhumansoverthousandsofyearssuggestingreligionisabyproductofhumanevolution.

Spirituality,afterall,servesavitalhumanpurpose.Numerousstudiesshowthatreligiousbeliefismedicallyandpsychologically(nottomentionsocially)beneficial.Reportshaveshownthatchurchgoersliveanaveragesevenyearslongerthanheathens.Theyreportlowerbloodpressure,recoverquickerfrombreastcancer,havebetteroutcomesfromcoronarydiseaseandrheumatoidarthritis,havegreatersuccesswithIVFandarelesslikelytohavechildrenwithmeningitis.

Patientswithastrongintrinsicfaith(adeeppersonalbelief,notjustasocialinclinationtogotoaplaceofworship)recover70percentfasterfromdepressionthanthosewhoarenotdeeplyreligious.

Changesinbrainchemistrycanalsomakepeoplelosetheirreligion.McNamarahasusedMRIscansonpeoplewithParkinsonsdisease.

Wediscoveredasubgroupwhowerequitereligiousbut,asthediseaseprogressed,lostsomeaspectsoftheirreligiosity,hesays.Sufferersbrainslacktheneurotransmitterdopamine,makingMcNamarasuspectthatreligiosityislinkedtodopamineactivityintheprefrontallobes.Theseareasofthebrainhandlecomplexitybest,soitmaybethatpeoplewithParkinsonsfindithardertoaccesscomplexreligiousexperiences.

Whenreligionisoperatingthewayitoughtwhenwerenottalkingaboutfanaticsblowingupnonbelieversitstrengthenstheprefrontallobes,whichhelpsinhibitimpulsesbetter,McNamarasays.Religiousactivitiessuchasprayer,ritual,abstainingfromalcohol,

strengthentheabilityoffrontallobestocontrolprimitiveimpulses.

Suchadvantagesaside,religionsgivetheirfollowersthebenefitsofasupportivesocialnetworksinceresearchhasshownlackofsocialcontactcanbemoreharmfultohealththan



obesity,alcoholismandsmoking15cigarettesaday.Beingpartofagroupisveryimportantpsychologically.Intimesofprosperity,peopletendtoquestionlargemovements,butduringperiodsofeconomicstress,fundamentalistmovementsflourish,saysMcNamara.

Interestingly,thosewhodescribethemselvesasbornagaindonotshowanyevidenceofthisparticularbenefitinexperiments.Onthecontrary,recentresearchbytheCentrefortheStudyofAgeingatDukeUniversity,NorthCarolina,revealedthattherewassignificantlygreaterhippocampalatrophy(braindamageassociatedwithdepression,Alzheimersanddementia)inpeoplewhoreportedalifechangingreligiousexperience,comparedtoreligiouspeoplewhodidnotdescribethemselvesasbornagain.

ThehumanpsychehatesanyformofcognitivedissonanceorchallengetoingrainedbeliefsandsoscientiststhinkthestrugglesthroughwhichbornagainChristiansgoinordertoovercometheiroldmodesofthinkingcauseseverestresstotheirbrains.

Ingeneral,though,itseemsthat,ifIwanttobepsychologicallyhealthy,Ineedtoapethefaithful.AnditturnsoutImalreadyworkingalongtherightlines.Afewyearsago,consciousoflackingregularsocialties(beforeIworkedfromhome,anofficeprovidedthat),Imadeanefforttojoincommunitygroups.Ivealso,recently,likemanyotherpeoplebecomeinterestedinsubjectssuchasyogaandmindfulness,aseculartypeofmeditation.

Scepticssuchasmeusedtoconsidersuchfieldsflaky,butnowtheirhealthbenefitsareprovennotleastinthewaytheystrengthenprefrontallobesitwouldbefoolishtodismissthem.

WevegrantedquasireligiousstatustowellbeingpursuitssuchasmindfulnessitslikesoftBuddhism,anditsnobadthing,saysWard.Wearesobusy,sowoundup,sotherecognitionthatwearenotmachinesandneedtofindtherapeuticwaystodealwithourstressisverywelcome,howeveritcomesabout.

Amentothat.

HowGodChangesYourBrainbyAndrewNewbergisavailablehere

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what god does to your brain - telegraph

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