PAIN AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF: A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

Authors

  • Miguel Farias

Abstract

This article summarizes the results of a pioneering study on the modulation of pain via religious belief. It starts out by mentioning methodological issues associated with multidisciplinary research, and it follows to describe the experimental conditions of this brain imaging study which used groups of atheist and practicing Catholics. The experimental results show that religious belief alleviates the perception of pain and is associated with an activation of the ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex, an area which has been shown in other studies in relation to cognitive reappraisal of events. Finally, the implications of these results, as well as some central unanswered questions it leaves open, are discussed.

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Published

2009-09-01

How to Cite

FARIAS, M. PAIN AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF: A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH. Religare: Revista do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências das Religiões da UFPB, [S. l.], v. 6, n. 2, 2009. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufpb.br/ojs/index.php/religare/article/view/8236. Acesso em: 17 may. 2024.

Issue

Section

Artigos Internacionais