Belief and the Brain

i-907fe0116cff667203a484dbeb974018-brainbuzz.jpg

You don't have to be brain-damaged to feel the presence of God, but it just might help. On Neurophilosophy, Mo analyzes a recent study into feelings of "self-transcendence" among individuals afflicted with brain lesions. Those with tumors in the posterior regions of the brain were more likely to identify as religious, and feelings of "creative self-forgetfulness," "transpersonal identification" and "spiritual acceptance" increased after surgical removal of "the left inferior parietal lobule and the right angular gyrus." The posterior regions of the brain are strongly associated with religious feeling, as earlier work has shown that "the mystical experiences of Tibetan Buddhist monks and Carmelite nuns are associated with altered parietal lobe activity." Razib Khan covers the same study on Gene Expression, writing "drugs, deprivation (e.g., fasting) and traumatic personal events seem to push people toward this state of 'self-transcendence' quite often." And on Pharyngula, PZ Myers offers a glimpse into the head of a true believer.

Links below the fold.

More like this

Due to work stuff, I'm very busy this week, and I don't have time to write a detailed pathological language post, so I chose something that doesn't take a lot of explanation, but
While browser over at programming.reddit.com, I came across something simultaneously hideous and amazing.
I saw it at Julie's.
"American Music," the Violent Femmes "California Stars," Billy Bragg and Wilco "The City of New Orleans," Arlo Guthrie "Song to Woody," Bob Dylan "The Body of an American," the Pogues