Selflessness - The Core Of All Major World
Religions - Has Neuropsychological Connection, MU Study Finds
December 21, 2008
All spiritual experiences are based in the brain. That statement is truer than
ever before, according to a University of Missouri neuropsychologist. An MU
study has data to support a neuropsychological model that proposes spiritual
experiences associated with selflessness are related to decreased activity in
the right parietal lobe of the brain. The study is one of the first to use
individuals with traumatic brain injury to determine this connection.
Researchers say the implication of this connection means people in many
disciplines, including peace studies, health care or religion can learn
different ways to attain selflessness, to experience transcendence, and to help
themselves and others.
This study, along with other recent neuroradiological studies of Buddhist
meditators and Francescan nuns, suggests that all individuals, regardless of
cultural background or religion, experience the same neuropsychological
functions during spiritual experiences, such as transcendence. Transcendence,
feelings of universal unity and decreased sense of self, is a core tenet of all
major religions. Meditation and prayer are the primary vehicles by which such
spiritual transcendence is achieved.
"The brain functions in a certain way during spiritual experiences,"
said Brick Johnstone, professor of health psychology in the MU School of Health
Professions. "We studied people with brain injury and found that people
with injuries to the right parietal lobe of the brain reported higher levels of
spiritual experiences, such as transcendence."
This link is important, Johnstone said, because it means selflessness can be
learned by decreasing activity in that part of the brain. He suggests this can
be done through conscious effort, such as meditation or prayer. People with
these selfless spiritual experiences also are more psychologically healthy,
especially if they have positive beliefs that there is a God or higher power who
loves them, Johnstone said.
"This research also addresses questions regarding the impact of neurologic
versus cultural factors on spiritual experience," Johnstone said. "The
ability to connect with things beyond the self, such as transcendent
experiences, seems to occur for people who minimize right parietal functioning.
This can be attained through cultural practices, such as intense meditation or
prayer or because of a brain injury that impairs the functioning of the right
parietal lobe. Either way, our study suggests that 'selflessness' is a
neuropsychological foundation of spiritual experiences."
The research was funded by the MU Center on Religion and the Professions. The
study - "Support for a neuropsychological model of spirituality in persons
with traumatic brain injury" - was published in the peer-reviewed journal Zygon.
"Our research focused on the personal experience of spiritual transcendence
and does not in any way minimize the importance of religion or personal beliefs,
nor does it suggest that spiritual experience are related only to
neuropsychological activity in the brain," Johnstone said. "It is
important to note that individuals experience their God or higher power in many
different ways, but that all people from all religions and beliefs appear to
experience these connections in a similar way."
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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Source: Jennifer Faddis
University of
Missouri-Columbia
Medical News Today: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
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