Study dispels single ‘God spot’ in brain [View all]

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By Janese Silvey
Monday, April 23, 2012

There's no single spot in the human brain responsible for spiritual experiences, a University of Missouri research team has found, contradicting previous studies that indicate there's a "God spot" in the brain.

Rather, Professor Brick Johnstone has concluded that people feel spiritual when the right side of the brain is impaired because that's the area that controls self-orientation. Shut down the selfish side, he said, and people are more in tune with spiritual experiences, regardless of religion.

"Basically, that allows you to connect with things beyond the self — self-transcendence," Johnstone said. "In a lot of religions, people want to become selfless. Minimizing right-lobe functioning is just one way that's manifested."

For the study, he researched 20 people with traumatic brain injuries affecting the right parietal lobe, the area of the brain a few inches above the right ear. Johnstone surveyed participants on spirituality, such as whether they felt close to a higher power or felt they were part of a divine plan. Participants with more significant injury to their right parietal lobes were more likely to feel close to a higher being.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/apr/23/study-dispels-single-god-spot-in-brain/