Michael A Ferguson1, Frederic L W V J Schaper2, Alexander Cohen3, Shan Siddiqi4, Sarah M Merrill5, Jared A Nielsen6, Jordan Grafman7, Cosimo Urgesi8, Franco Fabbro8, Michael D Fox9. 1. Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: mferguson7@bwh.harvard.edu. 2. Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands. 3. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 4. Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. 5. Department of Medical Genetics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 6. Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. 7. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois; Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Think + Speak Lab, Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Chicago, Illinois. 8. Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy. 9. Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
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 locations causing delusions and alien limb syndrome also intersected this circuit. CONCLUSIONS: 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.
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 locations causing delusions and alien limb syndrome also intersected this circuit. CONCLUSIONS: 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.
Authors: Nikola Kohls; Sebastian Sauer; Martin Offenbächer; James Giordano Journal: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci Date: 2011-06-27 Impact factor: 6.237
Authors: H Blumenfeld; G I Varghese; M J Purcaro; J E Motelow; M Enev; K A McNally; A R Levin; L J Hirsch; R Tikofsky; I G Zubal; A L Paige; S S Spencer Journal: Brain Date: 2009-04-01 Impact factor: 13.501
Authors: Michael A Ferguson; Jared A Nielsen; Jace B King; Li Dai; Danielle M Giangrasso; Rachel Holman; Julie R Korenberg; Jeffrey S Anderson Journal: Soc Neurosci Date: 2016-11-29 Impact factor: 2.083