Pilot study of the effect of religious symbols on brain function: Association with measures of religiosity.

Abstract

Religious symbols are used throughout the world to evoke specific meaning in adherents. However, it is unclear if the impact of symbols is based upon their meaning or the inherent effect of the visual symbols on the brain. There has never been a study that has assessed the impact of religious symbols, of both positive and negative emotional content, on the brain. In addition, it would also be important to correlate the neurophysiological effect of various religious symbols to specific measures of a person’s perspective on religion. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to study 20 healthy subjects from different religious backgrounds, we found that neural activation in the primary visual cortex was significantly suppressed in response to religious negative symbols compared with neutral and nonreligious negative symbols. No such deactivation was observed for religious positive symbols. Subjects’ scores on the Quest scale, an index of religious and spiritual orientation and belief, correlated significantly with activity in the primary visual cortex for negative symbols, but not for positive symbols. In addition, scores on the Beliefs About God Assessment Form (BAGAF), that measures the adaptability of a person’s religious beliefs, correlated significantly with activity in the amygdala and insula when observing religious symbols. These findings suggest an early stage visual mecha