  |
Neurotheology on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotheology
A brief but balanced overview of the field. |
| |
The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation - http://www.noetic.org/research/medbiblio/ch_intro1.htm
Online portions of a book by the same name, reviewing scientific studies, discussing behavioral effects, and giving subjective reports. Searchable bibliography on meditation research. |
| |
BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon - God on the Brain - http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/godonbrain.shtml
Is a part of our brains hardwired to generate religious feelings? Program summary for a BBC neurotheology special. |
| |
Tracing the Synapses of Our Spirituality - http://www.maps.org/media/vedantam.html
Washington Post article by Shankar Vedantam on researchers examining the relationship between brain and religion. |
| |
Guardian Unlimited | Life | Tests of faith - http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1423450,00.html
Article discussing evolutionary, anthropological (Boyer), and neuroscientific (Ramachandran, Newberg) aspects of religion. |
| |
Are We Hardwired for God? - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4351726,00.html
The Guardian newspaper's review of Pascal Boyer's book "Religion Explained". |
| |
The Serotonin System and Spiritual Experiences - http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/160/11/1965?
American Journal of Psychiatry research showing that "binding potential" (serotonin levels) correlated inversely with scores for self-transcendence. |
| |
Wired for the Ultimate Reality: The Neuropsychology of Religious Experience - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/voices/newberg.html
Article by Drs. Andrew Newberg and Eugene D'Aquili on the biological mechanisms underlying religious and spiritual experience, from the PBS "The Question of God" series. |
| |
Body and Mind - http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/S/science/body/exorcism.html
Materials accompanying a TV special on body and mind, with a brief overview of older theories and notable neurotheology research. |
| |
Neurotheology & Shamanism - http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/neuro/winkelman1.htm
Dr. Michael Winkelman, Anthropology Professor at Arizona State and author of "Shamanism: The Neural Economy of Consciousness", discusses the neurological basis of shamanism, mankind's oldest spiritual practice. |
| |
This Is Your Brain on God - http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.11/persinger_pr.html
Wired Magazine interview of Michael Persinger, leading figure in the reductionist school of neurotheology. |
| |
"Neurotheology": A semantic trap set by pseudo-science for the unwary scientist - http://www.cns.res.in/neurotheology.html
Article claiming there is no scientific rationale for the nouveau term "Neurotheology", and that researchers working on topics relating to religion should stick to the conventional Behavioural and Social Neurosciences categories. |
| |
Ecstasy from a Physiological Point of View - http://www.ex-premie.org/papers/religious_ecstasy.htm
Discussion of relationship between drugs, celibacy, fasting and other physical practices and ecstasy. Presented by Kaj Bjorkqvist at Symposium on Religions Ecstasy held at Åbo, Finland, on the 26th-28th of August 1981. |
| |
Physiology of meditation - http://ejmas.com/pt/ptart_shin_0400.htm
Article covering meditation and its relationship to the metabolism, autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, and central nervous system. |
| |
Meridian Magazine :: Neurotheology - http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/040216neurotheology.html
BYU scholars give a brief overview of neurotheology, and ponder the neurological basis of Joseph Smith's revelations. |
| |
Neurological Correlates of Transformational Experiences - http://www.meridianinstitute.com/reports/neurocor.html
Article building on work of Persinger and d'Aquili, looking at near-death experiences with neuroimaging. |
| |
On the Neuropsychology of Religious Experiences - http://www.psych.uiuc.edu/~bhidalgo/litreview.htm
Review of literature on neuropsychology of religious experiences, including temporal lobe model, D'Aquili's model for meditative states, and substance-induced religious experience. |
| |
How the Brain Creates God - http://www.nwbotanicals.org/oak/magick/createsgod.htm
Broad-ranging overview by Iona Miller, touching on archetypes, NDEs, drugs, trances, TMS, and shamanism. |
| |
Zen and the Brain - http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy/zen_and.html
Summary of "Zen and the Brain", James H. Austin's definitive work tracing the neuroscientific aspects of Zen. |
| |
Evolutionary Neurotheology and the Varieties of Religious Experience - ftp://cs.utk.edu/pub/maclennan/EvolutionaryNeurotheology-long.pdf
Article by Bruce McLennan of University of Tennessee, outlining a neuropsychological approach to religious experience based on archetypal psychology. |