Spirituality Spot Found in Brain

[Americanhero1]

What makes us feel spiritual? It could be the quieting of a small area in our brains, a new study suggests.

The area in question - the right parietal lobe - is responsible for defining "Me," said researcher Brick Johnstone of Missouri University. It generates self-criticism, he said, and guides us through physical and social terrains by constantly updating our self-knowledge: my hand, my cocktail, my witty conversation skills, my new love interest ...

People with less active Me-Definers are more likely to lead spiritual lives, reports the study in the current issue of the journal Zygon.

Most previous research on neuro-spirituality has been based on brain scans of actively practicing adherents (i.e. meditating monks, praying nuns) and has resulted in broad and inconclusive findings. (Is the brain area lighting up in response to verse or spiritual experience?)

So Johnstone and colleague Bret Glass turned to the tried-and-true techniques of neuroscience's early days - studying brain-injured patients. The researchers tested brain regions implicated in the previous imaging studies with exams tailored to each area's expertise - similar to studying the prowess of an ear with a hearing test. They then looked for correlations between brain region performance and the subjects' self-reported spirituality.

Among the more spiritual of the 26 subjects, the researchers pinpointed a less functional right parietal lobe, a physical state which may translate psychologically as decreased self-awareness and self-focus.

The finding suggests that one core tenant of spiritual experience is selflessness, said Johnstone, adding that he hopes the study "will help people think about spirituality in more specific ways."

Spiritual outlooks have long been associated with better mental and physical health. These benefits, Johnstone speculated, may stem from being focused less on one's self and more on others - a natural consequence of turning down the volume on the Me-Definer.

In addition to religious practices, other behaviors and experiences are known to hush the Definer of Me. Appreciation of art or nature can quiet it, Johnstone said, pointing out that people talk of "losing themselves" in a particularly beautiful song. Love, and even charity work, can also soften the boundaries of "Me," he said.

The greatest silencing of the Me-Definer likely happens in the deepest states of meditation or prayer, said Johnstone, when practitioners describe feeling seamless with the entire universe.
That is, the highest point of spiritual experience occurs when "Me" completely loses its definition.

"If you look in the Torah, the Tanach, the New Testament, in the Koran, a lot of Sufi writings, Buddhist writings, and Hindu writings, they all talk about selflessness," said Johnstone.

We may be finding the neurological underpinnings of these writings, he said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20081224/sc_livescience/spiritualityspotfoundinbrain

[Rubystars]

It makes sense to me that God would have allowed this part of the brain to evolve in order to communicate more easily with us.

[muman613]

Personally I think this is hogwash. Sure a scientist needs a reason for people to seek G-d and what better explanation than a "spirituality spot" in the brain. This nice little discovery doesnt help us in the least and just provides science with a convenient explanation for something that they cannot quite grasp. What they will say is that we have 'mental problems' when we are praying and observing our G-d. What if they discover a way to nuetralize this spot in the brain and remove G-d from the person. There is much I am not happy about in this article and especially the final sentence which lumps Torah and Koran into the same category... What trash!

Koran and Torah are not the same!

[Rubystars]

Muman some people I've spoken to in the past actually believe spirituality is a mental disorder. They say anyone who speaks to "invisible" entities like God must be mentally unstable. Even though these atheists are in the extreme minority they think everyone else in the world is insane for believing in the spiritual world.

[zachor_ve_kavod]

This is junk science.  Here is was cognitive science really says about the brain:  All neuro-science is, is the science that is based on the premise that what people do or think or feel can be seen in the brain.  In other words, neuro-science does not say that the brain is the source of thought or behaviour, merely that thought or behaviour leaves a readable indicator in the brain.

This is really important.  Any supposed scientist who claims that the brain is the source of human thought, spirituality, or behaviour is a charlatan.  So it does not surprise me that there is a part of the brain that reveals spiritual activity, but to suggest that this part of the brain is the ORIGIN or CAUSE of spiritual activity is unprovable nonsense.

[Rubystars]

Zachor why do you think the brain doesn't produce thoughts? I don't think it means we're not spiritual beings if our spirit is working through our brains. Is that what you mean? There are certain processes in the brain that go on physically when thoughts are happening or emotions are happening. Also memories are actually physically stored. That's why Alzheimer's can get at them.

[zachor_ve_kavod]

The brain is an essential part of the physical manifestation of us.  Scientists understand fairly well how things work in the brain but the haven't arrived at the source for these things.  Things that happen in the brain can be read like a cookie can be read on a hard drive.  This is not a very accurate description, I know.  We may have a part of the brain where spiritual activity takes place, but that part of the brain does not explain why we have spiritual activity to begin with.  If you believe, as some scientists do (not all), that people are physical beings with a spiritual side, then you can understand a physical location of the brain to be the source of thought, feeling, or behaviour.  But if you believe, as I do, that we are spiritual beings with a temporary physical manifestation, then no part of the brain can actually be the origin of human thought, feeling, or behaviour. 

This is somewhat difficult for me to explain.  But I do remember reading several neuro-science books that offered the warning that the brain is the location, not the cause of human thought.  There are fundamental questions that no amount of neuro-science can answer.

[Daleksfearme]

This is junk science.  Here is was cognitive science really says about the brain:  All neuro-science is, is the science that is based on the premise that what people do or think or feel can be seen in the brain.  In other words, neuro-science does not say that the brain is the source of thought or behaviour, merely that thought or behaviour leaves a readable indicator in the brain.

This is really important.  Any supposed scientist who claims that the brain is the source of human thought, spirituality, or behaviour is a charlatan.  So it does not surprise me that there is a part of the brain that reveals spiritual activity, but to suggest that this part of the brain is the ORIGIN or CAUSE of spiritual activity is unprovable nonsense.

I understand your concerns about where the creative and spiritual processes that have lead to great human achievements originate. It is staggering that all that we are is contained within our brains, an organ of only a few pounds. That thoughts and emotion are formulated and processed by the brain is no longer in dispute. (although some of the details are not well understood) The brain is also responsible for short and long term memory storage, as well as the overall maintenance of our bodies systems.

Perhaps G-d has given us this remarkable biological computer system so that we can be creative, Or, there could be a connection point to the universe that has a provable location within the brain. To be honest I really don't know the answer to that.

What I am sure of, is that an increase in our understanding of how we are connected to the universe, in no way, takes away from the grandeur of creation. To me, it is just the opposite. The more science I learn, the more my connection to the spiritual part of me is nourished and grows. As the Bible says, we are to be masters of the natural world. Modern neuro science is simply one way for us to do this.

Here is a site that you might find interesting...

http://www.mindandlife.org/

Let me know what you think

[zachor_ve_kavod]

This is junk science.  Here is was cognitive science really says about the brain:  All neuro-science is, is the science that is based on the premise that what people do or think or feel can be seen in the brain.  In other words, neuro-science does not say that the brain is the source of thought or behaviour, merely that thought or behaviour leaves a readable indicator in the brain.

This is really important.  Any supposed scientist who claims that the brain is the source of human thought, spirituality, or behaviour is a charlatan.  So it does not surprise me that there is a part of the brain that reveals spiritual activity, but to suggest that this part of the brain is the ORIGIN or CAUSE of spiritual activity is unprovable nonsense.

I understand your concerns about where the creative and spiritual processes that have lead to great human achievements originate. It is staggering that all that we are is contained within our brains, an organ of only a few pounds. That thoughts and emotion are formulated and processed by the brain is no longer in dispute. (although some of the details are not well understood) The brain is also responsible for short and long term memory storage, as well as the overall maintenance of our bodies systems.

Perhaps G-d has given us this remarkable biological computer system so that we can be creative, Or, there could be a connection point to the universe that has a provable location within the brain. To be honest I really don't know the answer to that.

What I am sure of, is that an increase in our understanding of how we are connected to the universe, in no way, takes away from the grandeur of creation. To me, it is just the opposite. The more science I learn, the more my connection to the spiritual part of me is nourished and grows. As the Bible says, we are to be masters of the natural world. Modern neuro science is simply one way for us to do this.

Here is a site that you might find interesting...

http://www.mindandlife.org/

Let me know what you think

Thank you Daleksfearme, this looks interesting.  I will try to make some time to explore it tonight.