Spirituality and the Brain
Neurological Differences Define Belief and Self-Transcendence
Apr 30, 2009
Can God leave footprints in the brain? Some would suggest that the answer is "yes."
Recent studies suggest that spirituality can reshape both brain and behavior. Belief in God not only minimizes stress but can be revealed in distinct neurological differences between believers and non-believers. Meditation and other practices that foster a transcendence of self also leave defined neurological changes in the brain.
Neurological Differences Define Belief
Two studies led by Assistant Professor Michael Inzlicht of the University of Toronto demonstrated that religious believers, compared to non-believers, were less likely to feel anxious or stressed because they showed less activity in the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) portion of the brain.
The ACC acts as a warning system, ramping up activity when an individual is faced with difficult decisions, conflict-related anxiety or mistakes. Individuals with high levels of neuroticism tend to show stronger responses in this brain area.
It appears that a belief in the existence of God or in a divine force protected believers from anxiety and stress when things did not go as anticipated.
This correlation between belief and brain activity remained strong even after personality and cognitive ability have been discounted. These results suggest that belief in God has a calming effect on believers, allowing then to be more open to problems or the unknown.
Neurological Differences Define Self-transcendence
Similarly, research shows that spiritual experiences like meditation and prayers leave traces in the brain.
Recent studies involving Buddhist meditators and Francescan nuns suggest that spiritual experiences involving selflessness and self-transcendence leave signatures in the brain – a decrease in the activity of the right parietal lobe and significant activity in the insula, an area near the frontal brain that plays a key role in mapping body responses to emotion.
Studies of people with brain injuries to the right parietal lobe revealed that they reported higher levels of spiritual experiences as well.
Another study involving compassion meditators indicates that states of transcendence and selflessness (dissolution of the ego) can be learned through conscious effort. Much like training in sports, this spiritual “muscle” can be made stronger with exercise. These studies point the way towards meditation training as a viable strategy to combat depression and anxiety.
Studies have also shown that individuals who have these selfless spiritual experiences tend to be psychologically healthy, especially when they are grounded by the belief that they are somehow connected to a higher, providential power.
If spiritual belief and self-transcendence have the power to alter brain activity, their influence on the individual’s ability to cultivate right mind and right action in daily life cannot be ignored.
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