Prisca,
I few weeks ago after the Sopranos, there was an America Undercover
documentary about religious leaders like benny Hinn, miracles, etc.
During the program the subject turned to human physiology -- how the brain
is made, how it evolved, what parts of it deals with religious belief,
imagination, etc. Sorry I didn’t take notes. It was fascinating. Yesterday, I
forget who posted http://www.parascope.com/articles/slips/fs22_3.htm
where it says
A group of neuroscientists at the University of California at San Diego has
identified a region of the human brain that appears to be linked to thoughts
of spiritual matters and prayer. Their findings tentatively suggest that we as
a species are genetically programmed to believe in God.
The researchers came upon these cerebral revelations in the course of
studying the brain patterns of certain people with epilepsy. Epileptics who
suffer a particular type of seizure are often intensely religious, and are
known to report an unusual number of spiritually-oriented visions and
obsessions. Measurements of electrical activity in the brains of test subjects
indicated a specific neural center in the temporal lobe that flared up at times
when the subjects thought about God. This same area was also a common
focal point overloaded with electrical discharges during their epileptic
seizures.
Could this heretofore unidentified part of the brain -- nicknamed the "God
module" -- actually be some sort of physiological seat of religious belief?
The scientists who discovered it believe it might be. They have performed a
further study comparing epileptic subjects with different groups of non-
epileptics -- a random group of average people, as well as individuals who
characterized themselves as extremely religious. The electrical brain
activity of the subjects was recorded while they were shown a series of
words, and the God module zones of the epileptics and the religious group
exhibited similar responses to words involving God and faith.
I started a class in psychology in summer school and the subject of religion
has already come up in relation to chemical reactions in the brain. I’m
looking forward to learning a lot more. I'll keep you posted.
peace,
toddski