Brain-Spirituality Location

Consensus seems to be that whatever else the human brain is, it is relational, sexual, and spiritual.

1. Relational because it likes to connect with humans, nature, and a power outside itself
2. Sexual because the brain itself differs whether the person engages in sexual behaviors
3. Spiritual because of the “spirit” with which the brain lives life including relational and sexual parameters

Consensus seems to be that whatever else the human brain is, it is relational, sexual, and spiritual. Reportedly, more than 80 percent of people around the world consider themselves to be spiritual or religious. Research on the neuroscience of spirituality and religiosity—separate functions—has been relatively sparse, however, and often those terms were used interchangeably, which further muddied the waters. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital have taken a new approach to mapping spirituality and religiosity. The results of their study, published in Biological Psychiatry, found that spiritual acceptance can be localized to a specific brain circuit. This brain circuit is located in the brain stem in a region known as the periaqueductal gray. Most people have never heard of the periaqueductal gray—also known as the PAG or central gray.

 

More tomorrow.