May 26, 2006

What Happens to Your Brain While Praying?

By RICHARD MONASTERSKY

Is there a spiritual center in the brain, a module of neural circuits specifically designed for religious experience?

Despite popular reports, scientists have not yet found a "God spot." But brain scans of people praying or meditating are teaching researchers that different spiritual practices do share common neural features, says Nina P. Azari, an assistant professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Ms. Azari is something of an anomaly among brain

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