A Neural Circuit for Spirituality and Religiosity Derived From Patients With Brain Lesions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

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.

Methods

In two independent brain lesion datasets (N₁ = 88; N₂ = 105), we applied lesion network mapping to test whether lesion locations associated with spiritual and religious belief map to a specific human brain circuit.

Results

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 locat

SUBMITTER: Ferguson MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8714871 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature