Tongues of Men and Angels: Assessing the Neural Correlates of Glossolalia

Abstract

This chapter will avoid such normative judgments and proceed from a novel approach, namely that glossolalia promotes neural and behavioral disinhibition , specifically disinhibition resulting from selective downregulation of circuits in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. In pairing glossolalia and the transient hypofrontality hypothesis, a case study for the utility of the neuroscience of religious practice and experience is highlighted for critical examination. The aim of the chapter is to highlight that all relevant tools for the study of religion ought to be pursued. Those who would decry reductionism are more often than not expressing a proclivity rather than a necessity for their particular research methods. There is no longer an unassailable wall between science and human experience. The current state of affairs may finally allow a set of bridges to be built between these too often divided spheres of human inquiry. Keywords:disinhibition; Glossolalia; prefrontal cortex; transient hypofrontality