UCLA Brain Mapping Center

Publications

The neural correlates of religious and nonreligious belief.

Harris S; Kaplan JT; Curiel A; Bookheimer SY; Iacoboni M; Cohen MS;
PloS one. 2009-Dec; 4(e0007272):10
 
While religious faith remains one of the most significant features of human life, little is known about its relationship to ordinary belief at the level of the brain. Nor is it known whether religious believers and nonbelievers differ in how they evaluate statements of fact. Our lab previously has used functional neuroimaging to study belief as a general mode of cognition [1], and others have looked specifically at religious belief [2]. However, no research has compared these two states of mind directly.
 
PMID: 19794914    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007272
 

BMAP Author