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A Neural Circuit for Spirituality and Religiosity Derived From Patients With Brain Lesions.
- Source :
-
Biological Psychiatry . Feb2022, Vol. 91 Issue 4, p380-388. 9p. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Over 80% of the global population consider themselves religious, with even more identifying as spiritual, but the neural substrates of spirituality and religiosity remain unresolved. In two independent brain lesion datasets (N 1 = 88; N 2 = 105), we applied lesion network mapping to test whether lesion locations associated with spiritual and religious belief map to a specific human brain circuit. We found that brain lesions associated with self-reported spirituality map to a brain circuit centered on the periaqueductal gray. Intersection of lesion locations with this same circuit aligned with self-reported religiosity in an independent dataset and previous reports of lesions associated with hyper-religiosity. Lesion locations causing delusions and alien limb syndrome also intersected this circuit. These findings suggest that spirituality and religiosity map to a common brain circuit centered on the periaqueductal gray, a brainstem region previously implicated in fear conditioning, pain modulation, and altruistic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *BRAIN damage
*NEURAL circuitry
*SPIRITUALITY
*ALTRUISM
*RELIGIOUSNESS
*BRAIN stem
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00063223
- Volume :
- 91
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Biological Psychiatry
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 154561159
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.06.016