Re: The God Spots in the Brain

"Tim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "Immortalist" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > The God Spot
> >
> > We evolved with a "god spot," a desire and need to look toward something
> > beyond us, something that can provide meaning and direction for our
lives,
> > our high and low experiences, and can help us understand and control
what
> > goes on in the world around us. With what do we fill that spot? I
propose
> in
> > this series of lectures to explore how our forebears achieved this tens
of
> > thousands of years ago and how infants do so today. Such barely
culturated
> > experiences and beliefs teach about what the god that adequately fills
the
> > god spot must satisfy. The lectures continue by describing how
> Christianity
> > has, does, and might better fill this god spot in each of us.
> >
> > http://www.ksharpe.com/word/EP36.htm
> >
> > ----------------------------
> >
> > Believers from every tradition and around the world have reported
similar
> > sensations of religious experience - a feeling of completeness, absence
of
> > self, or oneness with the universe, feelings of peace, freedom from
fear,
> > ecstatic joy, visions of a Supreme Being.
> >
> > With the aid of new technology that allows them to watch the brain in
> > action, a group of scientists - sometimes described as
> "neurotheologists" -
> > have tried to explain how such experiences occur and perhaps even why.
> >
> > "There are certain [brain] patterns that can be generated experimentally
> > that will generate the sense, presence and the feeling of God-like
> > experiences," says professor of Neuroscience Michael Persinger of
> Ontario's
> > Laurentia University. "The patterns we use are complex but they imitate
> what
> > the brain does normally."
> >
> > Persinger originally set out to explore the nature of creativity and
sense
> > of self. But his research into patterns of brain activity led him to
delve
> > into the nature of mystical experiences as well.
> >
> > To do this Persinger puts his subjects in a quiet room, depriving them
of
> > light and sound, so that the nerve cells typically involved in seeing
and
> > hearing are not stimulated. Then he applies a magnetic field pattern
over
> > the right hemisphere of the brain.
> >
> > Persinger was asked if his work leads him to conclude that "God," or the
> > experience of God, is solely the creation of brain-wave activity.
> >
> > "My point of view is, 'Let's measure it.' Let's keep an open mind and
> > realize maybe there is no God; maybe there might be," says Persinger.
> "We're
> > not going to answer it by arguments - we're going to answer it by
> > measurement and understanding the areas of the brain that generate the
> > experience and the patterns that experimentally produce it in the
> > laboratory."
> >
> > Mind, Body and Belief
> >
> > To others who have thought deeply about religion, that is a conclusion
> that
> > far outstrips the evidence - a scientific leap of faith, if you will.
> >
> > "They have isolated one small aspect of religious experience and they
are
> > identifying that with the whole of religion," says John Haught,
professor
> of
> > theology at Georgetown University.
> >
> > Religion "is not all meditative bliss. It also involves moments when you
> > feel abandoned by God," says Haught. "It involves commitments and
> suffering
> > and struggle.. Religion is visiting widows and orphans; it is symbolism
> and
> > myth and story and much richer things."
> >
> > Persinger says he is less concerned with trying to prove or disprove the
> > existence of God than with understanding and documenting the experience.
> > However, in his view, "if we have to draw conclusions now, based upon
the
> > data, the answer would be more on the fact that there is no deity."
> >
> > He is clear about an underlying motivation of his work - a fear that
> > unscrupulous people might use techniques to provoke a spiritual
experience
> > to control people.
> >
> > But Persinger also acknowledges a more positive possibility: "If you
look
> at
> > the spontaneous cases of people who have God experiences and
conversions,
> > their health improves," he says. "So if we can understand the patterns
of
> > activity that generate this experience, we may also be able to
understand
> > how to have the brain - and hence the body - cure itself."
> >
> > What Prayer Does
> >
> > That search for the mind-body connection also motivates the work of
other
> > researchers, such as Professor Andrew Newberg at the University of
> > Pennsylvania.
> >
> > "Whether there is a God or not in some senses isn't as relevant to the
> kind
> > of research we're doing so much as understanding why those feelings and
> > experiences are important to us as human beings," he says.
> >
> > Newberg observed the brains of Tibetan Buddhists and Franciscan nuns as
> they
> > engaged in deep prayer and mediation by injecting radioactive dye, or
> > "tracer" as the subject entered a deep meditative state, then
> photographing
> > the results with a high tech imaging camera. He found that "when people
> > meditate they have significantly increased activity in the frontal
area -
> > the attention area of the brain - and decreased activity in that
> orientation
> > part of the brain."
> >
> > Many of these changes occur whether people are praying (focusing on
> oneness
> > with a deity) or meditating (focusing on oneness with the universe). But
> > there are differences, in that prayer activates the "language center" in
> the
> > brain, while the "visual center" is engaged by meditation.
> >
> > Either way, Newberg finds that the sense of "unity," or "oneness"
> > experienced by his subjects is a real, biological event. And he
> acknowledges
> > the limits of his own work: He currently lacks a means to measure the
> > neurological events associated with other religious practices - such as
> > caring for the poor or ecstatic worship.
> >
> > "Our work really points to the fact that these are very complex kinds of
> > feelings and experiences that affect us on many different levels," says
> > Newberg. "There is no one simple way of looking at these kinds of
> > questions."
> >
> > Science and the Afterlife
> >
> > Across the country, at the University of Arizona, professor of Neurology
> and
> > Psychiatry Gary Schwartz would probably say: "Amen" to that.
> >
> > Perhaps the most controversial of the group of researchers dedicated to
> > studying the "God spot" in the brain, Schwartz explores the question of
> > whether consciousness survives death with the help of mediums (people
who
> > demonstrate unusual accuracy in describing intimate attributes of the
dead
> > to those who knew them well).
> >
> > His experiments compare the brain waves and heart rates of both the
medium
> > and the person for whom he or she is trying to contact the dead.
> >
> > "One of the fundamental questions is, 'How does a medium receive this
kind
> > of information?'" he explains. "To what extent are they using specific
> > regions of the brain which are purportedly associated with other kinds
of
> > mystical or religious experiences?"
> >
> > Schwartz says his research "is actually a window or a doorway, if you
> will,
> > to a much larger spiritual reality which integrates ancient wisdom with
> > contemporary science."
> >
> > He concludes that the human brain is wired to receive signals from what
he
> > calls a "Grand Organizing Design," or G.O.D.
> >
> > "Survival of conscience tells us that consciousness does not require a
> > brain, that our memories, our intentions, our intelligence, our dreams?
> all
> > of that can exist outside of the physical body," says Schwartz. "Now, by
> the
> > way, that's the same idea that we have about God - that something that
is
> > "invisible," that is "bigger than all of us," which we cannot see, can
> have
> > intellect, creativity, intention, memory and can influence the
universe."
> >
> > The Quest for Larger Things
> >
> > Like the other researchers interviewed for Nightline, Schwartz suggests
> that
> > his work has taken him on a personal spiritual journey, requiring him to
> ask
> > himself hard questions about science, faith, and reason. And Schwartz
says
> > that rather than diminishing faith, inquiries like his should enlarge
the
> > world's understanding of it.
> >
> > On that point, he and theologian John Haught agree.
> >
> > "Faith is the sense of being grasped by this higher dimension, or more
> > comprehensive, or deeper reality," says Haught. "If we could come up
with
> > clear proof or an absolutely mathematically lucid proof or verification
of
> > deity, then that would not be deity - it would be something smaller than
> > us.."
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/wpob
> >
> > ----------------------------
> >
> > Scientists, philosophers and atheists have long argued that God and
> > spirituality are constructs of the human mind, although that opinion
> > generally hasn't been a popular one. After centuries of bloody holy wars
> and
> > fierce theological dispute, the controversy of the Creator's existence
has
> > taken a strange new turn: humanity may finally have uncovered tangible
> > evidence that the phenomenon of religious faith is all in our heads.
> >
> > Literally.
> >
> > 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. No word
yet
> on
> > whether the brains of atheists and agnostics might flatline the
monitors,
> > but the parallel results among the strong believers are considered
> > impressive.
> >
> > "There may be dedicated neural machinery in the temporal lobes concerned
> > with religion," the research team announced at a conference for the
> Society
> > for Neuroscience. "This may have evolved to impose order and stability
on
> > society."
> >
> > Anthropologists and Darwinian theorists have frequently speculated that
> > religion may have developed as a self-policing mechanism as cooperation
> with
> > others became useful. With their intelligence and skills at making
> weapons,
> > there was little to stop early humans from slaughtering each other like
> wild
> > maniacs, until they began to fear unseen beings even bigger and badder
> than
> > themselves. This sort of adaptation has always been considered a purely
> > psychological function, but now we have the first evidence that the
> > religious instinct may be physically hard-wired right into our noggins.
> >
> > Which brings us to the most intriguing conundrum posed by the discovery
of
> > the God Spot. It's a double-edged sword shoved right through the heart
of
> > the science vs. religion debate, bearing either good news or bad news
for
> > the faithful masses depending on how you answer the chicken-or-the-egg
> > question: does it mean that God created our brains, or that our brains
> > created God?
> >
> > "These studies do not in any way negate the validity of religious
> experience
> > or God," the God module's discoverers took care to note, plainly
> > anticipating a reception of fire and brimstone from certain quarters.
> "They
> > merely provide an explanation in terms of brain regions that may be
> > involved."
> >
> > No matter how inconclusive or sketchy they label their findings as
being,
> > these scientists will inevitably be denounced as heathenistic
blasphemers
> > doing the work of Satan. Yet at the very same time, other equally devout
> > worshipers will praise this discovery as a beautiful and wondrous
epiphany
> > that spells out God's great plan.
> >
> > So what'll it be? A sacred temple in the temporal lobes, or an
incidental
> > conflagration of the synapses? The Kingdom of Heaven confined to the
> insides
> > of our skulls, or "I think of God, therefore He is"? Touched in the head
> by
> > an angel, or brainwashed into belief by biology?
> >
> > Believe what you want, but either way, I think those who draw any
serious
> > mechanistic or teleological conclusions from this research ought to have
> > their heads examined, as well.
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/r3ik
> >
> > -------------------------------
> >
> > An article in Nov 17th, 2001 edition of New Scientist magazine claimed
> that
> > the prophet Ezekiel probably suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy. It
> > maintains that many of the typical, tell-tale signs are there, such as
> > fainting spells, temporary bouts of speechlessness, aggression,
delusions,
> > compulsive writing, and excessive religiousness.
> >
> > There is nothing particularly original about the New Scientist's claim.
> For
> > many years now, there has been a suspicion that people like St Paul, St.
> > Joan of Arc, St. Teresa of Avila and Mohammed may have suffered from
what
> is
> > sometimes referred to as the 'sacred disease.' It is also quite possible
> > that, like them, Ezekiel was a victim of the same malady.
> >
> > In recent times, many neuroscientists have carried out brain research
> which
> > has tended to confirm that epilepsy and religiosity are often
> > interconnected. For example, in 1998, Vilayanur Ramachandran, of San
Diego
> > University, published a book entitled, Phantoms in the Brain. In it he
> > maintained that, following seizures, about 25 per cent of epileptics
> report
> > deeply moving spiritual experiences. They include a feeling of a divine
> > presence and a sense of direct communication with God. Everything around
> > them is imbued with cosmic significance. They may say, "I finally
> understand
> > what it is all about... Suddenly it all makes sense... I have insight
into
> > the true nature of the universe."
> >
> > As a result of examining the epileptics who report such significant
> > religious experiences, Ramachandran and other researchers have suggested
> > that there appears to be a "God spot" in the left temporal lobe of the
> > brain. Briefly put, they suspect that epileptic seizures cause damage to
> > some of the pathways which connect the area of the brain that deals with
> > sensory information to the one that gives such information emotional
> > significance. As a result, these patients can perceive an unusual depth
of
> > spiritual meaning in every object and event. Ramachandran goes on to ask
a
> > provocative question: if a surgeon removed a portion of the temporal
lobe,
> > would he be performing a "Godectomy"?
> >
> > http://www.redemptoristpublications.com/reality/sept02/godspot.html
> >
> > ----------------------------
> >
> > Seizures and the Sight of God
> > Isabella Eguae-Obazee
> > Researchers interested in the connection of the brain and religion have
> > examined the experiences of people suffering from Temporal Lobe
Epilepsy.
> > Apparently the increased electrical activity in the brain resulting from
> > seizure activity (abnormal electrical activity within localized portions
> of
> > the brain), makes sufferers more susceptible to having religious
> experiences
> > including visions of supernatural beings and near death experiences
(NDEs)
> > (9). Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) sufferers also may become increasingly
> > obsessed with religion, the study and practice of it (1). Why is it that
> > this form of epilepsy results in religious experiences among the other
> > supernatural experiences possible? Can people who have never studied or
> > practiced religion be susceptible to these same religious experiences?
Why
> > do some interested researchers claim that such notable figures as Paul
on
> > the road to Damascus, Joan of Arc, Ellen White of the Seventh-Day
> Adventist
> > Church and other persons suffered from TLE because of their range of
> > reported experiences with God, angels, and demons (1,3)? In my first
> paper,
> > I highlighted the connection scientists have made between religious
> > experience and the brain. In this paper, I intend to focus on Temporal
> Lobe
> > Epilepsy, as one of those connections, specifically the symptom of
> > hyperreligiousity.
> > In 1997 Vilayanur Ramachandran and his colleagues from the University of
> > California at San Diego headed a research study. The team studied
patients
> > of temporal lobe epilepsy measuring galvanic skin response on the left
> hands
> > of the patients (11). This measurement allowed the research team to
> monitor
> > arousal (specific autonomic nervous system response) and indirectly
> surmise
> > the communication between the inferior temporal lobe and the amygdala,
> both
> > important in response related to fear and arousal (9). In addition to
two
> > control groups a religious control group and a non-religious control
> group,
> > each group was shown forty words, including violent words, sexual words,
> and
> > simple words (like "wheel"), and finally, religious-related words. The
> > results of the study showed a greater arousal in the temporal lobe
> epilepsy
> > sufferers to religious words in comparison to the non-religious, whom
were
> > aroused by sexual words, and religious control groups, whom were aroused
> by
> > religious and sexual words (10).
> >
> > Ramachandran and his team concluded that although the patients were not
> > experiencing seizures or experiencing supernatural occurrences at the
time
> > of testing, they were highly sensitive to religious words. Thus, the
> > experiences of temporal lobe seizures strengthened the patients interest
> in
> > religion (11). Such a conclusion seems fairly reasonable considering
that
> > these patients also reported religious experiences during their
seizures.
> Is
> > it possible that the increased arousal to religious words is not a
direct
> > result of their temporal lobe epilepsy, but rather a result of the
> > supernatural experiences induced by their epilepsy? Possibly these
> patients
> > began to research and study religion more to finds ways to explain the
> > experiences that they had during their seizures. Subsequent research on
> very
> > religious, non-epileptic subjects supports this idea. In a different
> > experiment, the of very religious, non-epileptics' temporal lobes where
> > noted to be more active (11). However, in epileptic patients,
Ramachandran
> > concludes that the seizure's damage to temporal lobe pathways makes
these
> > patients more sensitive to certain ideas that to others do not have
great
> > meaning; specifically, pathways that connect the part of the brain that
> > gives recognizes to sensory information and the part that gives
emotional
> > meaning to the sensory information (4). Ramachandran believes that
because
> > of these specific damage, everything that these patients experience has
> > great meaning (10).
> >
> > Some people, interested in proving God's inexistence, speculate that
some
> of
> > the notable religious figures suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy. For
> > example, they claim that Paul, a notable figure in Christianity had a
> > temporal lobe seizure as he was walking toward Damascus (1). In the New
> > Testament of the Bible, Paul claims to see God and hear Jesus Christ
> > speaking to him. Other notable figures like Ellen Smith, of the
> Seventh-day
> > Adventist Church also claims to have had profound visions directly from
> God.
> > Contrary to these researchers belief, there are other components of
> temporal
> > epilepsy beyond hyperreligiousity that would negate these ideas.
> Associated
> > with temporal lobe epilepsy is also a change in personality. The person
> may
> > become irritable and obsessive-compulsive; they focus on extremely
> abstract
> > aspects of their daily life, and attach a great deal of importance to
> daily
> > situations. In addition they experience emotions with more intensity.
With
> > respect to these religious figures, the only one noted have any possible
> > experience with epilepsy is Ellen White, an influential member of the
> > Seventh Day Adventist Church. She suffered from a head injury during her
> > childhood however the head injury was suffered near the nasal-area of
her
> > face (3). I found very little evidence to support the claims that her
> among
> > other religious figures suffered from TLE.
> >
> > From the studies completed on Temporal Epilepsy patients, it appears
that
> > hyperreligiousity may simply be a result of increased interest in the
> > details and experiences of everyday life. However, the visions and other
> > supernatural experiences reported by these patients gives cause for
> > researchers to examine the temporal area of the brain. This portion of
the
> > brain may be what researchers are calling the "God Spot," a part of the
> > brain where religion arises from (11). It is not clear why this would be
> an
> > ideal place for the so-called "God Spot." It is possible that the known
> > functioning of the Temporal Lobe, recognizing sensory information and
> > attributing meaning to sensory information is akin to the philosophies
of
> > religion. Maybe, the "God Spot" acquires its spot over time rather than
> > having its presence in the brain early on in a human's life. If this
were
> > true, the next step would be to examine the Temporal Epilepsy cases of
> > younger children. Do they also experience religion as older patients do?
> >
> > Furthermore, if possible researchers should examine the prior religious
> > experiences and lives of temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Did they have
> any
> > interest in religion prior to their experiences with epilepsy? This may
> > provide insight intensity and contents of the persons reported religious
> > experiences. Hyperreligiousity is an interesting symptom of Temporal
Lobe
> > Epilepsy. The action of the temporal lobe after experiencing epileptic
> > seizures supports the idea that religion might begin in the mind (10). I
> > hope that within the coming years more scientists will research this
> aspect
> > of temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus, giving us more insight into whether the
> > soul is within the brain.
> >
> > http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/Eguae.html
> >
> > ----------------------------------
> >
> > 1)Epilepsy: Sacred Disease by Paul Newman
> > http://stormloader.com/users/abrax7/epilepsy.htm
> >
> > 2)Yours, Mine, and Ours: Whose God is it, anyway?
> > http://slate.msn.com/goodword/98-10-13/goodword.asp
> >
> > 3)Ellen G. White, by Don Hawley, Part 8
> > http://www.sabbath.com/white/egw8.htm
> >
> > 4)BrainPlace.Com, Temporal Lobe
> > http://www.brainplace.com/bp/brainsystem/temporal.asp
> >
> > 5)"The God Spot"
> > http://www.parascope.com/articles/slips/fs22_3.htm
> >
> > 6)Brainstorms, A book review by Robert Finn
> > http://nasw.org/finn/brnstrm.html
> >
> > 7)Personal Experience
> > http://www.objectivethought.com/atheism/personalexperience.html
> >
> > 8)WebMD: Temporal Lobe Seizure
> > http://my.webmd.com/content/asset/adam_disease_psychomotor_seizure
> >
> > 9)Touched by the Word of God
> > http://www.newscientist.com/ns/971108/nreligion.html
> >
> > 10)Beliefnet
> > http://tinyurl.com/wpnu
> >
> > 11)Genesis of Eden
> > http://dhushara.tripod.com/book/rebirth/comment/scirel.htm
> >
> >
>
> Nicked this from sci.Logic
>

Therefore logicians believe there are no brain structures and activities
that correspond to experiencing inferences?

> http://www.godpart.com/pages/premise2.html
>
>