SD: Where Religious Belief And Disbelief Meet
From an article on Science Daily:
A comparison of all religious with all nonreligious statements suggested that religious thinking is more associated with brain regions that govern emotion, self-representation and cognitive conflict in both believers and nonbelievers, while thinking about ordinary facts is more reliant upon memory retrieval networks. Activity in the brain's anterior cingulate cortex, an area associated with cognitive conflict and uncertainty, suggested that both believers and nonbelievers experienced greater uncertainty when evaluating religious statements.
The fact that religious thinking triggers different brain activity patterns is a step in the direction that could offer a neuro-scientific perspective on the universality of religious and spiritual traditions.
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Reader Comments (2)
Medical physicians have long recognized that those who have a strong religious faith often have better outcomes in treating disease (Christian Scientists' use of prayers to cure diabetes aside). Perhaps the very act of believing triggers a neural reaction that in turn boosts our bodies' ability to fight disease? Who knows... Neuroscience: the final frontier.
Thanks for the comment - a great observation. Simply writing about a highly stressful issue for 4 straight days can promote health (Pennebaker). These connections amaze me.
The mind is connected to the body. The evidence that one affects the health and experience of the other seems surprising, but it really shouldn't.