The "God Spot"

[andyandy]

This touches on one of my back burner thought projects -- the idea that religious ecstasy can be addictive.

I think anything that tickles the pleasure center has the potential to be addictive. There was even a study published recently that found some people were addicted to sun tanning -- and this was a scientific study that used the clinical definition of addiction and was supported by actual blood chemistry and brain scan measurements IIRC.

I work with a Pentecostal who carries a bible around at all times. My understanding is that a big part of the Pentecostal experience is the X-treme displays of religious ecstasy. It's not a big jump to conclude that those who live by and regularly experience such activities could easily become clinically addicted. My coworker, in fact, is a really grumpy guy, and I believe fits the pattern of an addict who's only happy when on the stuff.

Before I read this God Spot thread I'd been working on the religious-ecstasy-as-addiction-hypothesis, and finding that specific brain activity patterns during religious experinences or its memories of such bumps the possible validity of my hypothesis up a notch IMO. It's not a slam dunk, just another inch closer to validation.

If one can get funds to a study whether or not tanning can be clinically addictive, it sure would seem fundable to study the addictive properties of religion. Seems like a neat project for a psychology student.

It would depend what you mean by "addicted"....it's a rather vague term. Could you expand on what you understand it to mean?

 

[casebro]

The big flaw that I see is that they seem to credit the brain changes to religious experience only. I feel that the same brain changes happen whenever anybody does anything that they feel is pleasurable. Masturbation would be indistinguishable from religious ecstacy. Now try and find an un-biased sponsor for THAT study...

 

[jmercer]

Before I read this God Spot thread I'd been working on the religious-ecstasy-as-addiction-hypothesis, and finding that specific brain activity patterns during religious experinences or its memories of such bumps the possible validity of my hypothesis up a notch IMO. It's not a slam dunk, just another inch closer to validation.

If one can get funds to a study whether or not tanning can be clinically addictive, it sure would seem fundable to study the addictive properties of religion. Seems like a neat project for a psychology student.

Not that I'm trying to shoot you down on this - it's an interesting theory - but I'm having trouble swallowing the idea that this truly supports your hypothesis for a number of reasons.

1) Anything pleasureable would have the same potential - and there are a lot easier ways to stimulate the pleasure centers than the kind of life nuns and priests lead.

2) Brain activity patterns from remembered events may be generic; just because the pattern happens with a remembered religious experience doesnt' mean that it's unique to that; other experiences may trigger identical patterns.

3) Finally, addiction requires reward; a sense of peace and calmness may be highly desireable, but I have doubts that it would be strong enough to warrant addiction. Psychological addictions that are fueled by chemical euphoria (caused by dopamine and adrenaline releases) explain addiction for risk-takers, etc. The article, however, doesn't cite anything like that happening - just an increase in electrical activity in areas of the brain, coupled with oxygen increase. (Which makes sense if the brain is more active.) It would be interesting to determine what - if any - chemicals were released in the brain during the memory recall or an actual event.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

The article suggests that the experience originated as the result of brain activity. If that's an accurate quote, then that's pretty poor science, IMHO - because it is equally plausible that an external stimuli was responsible for the brain activity. (In fact, I believe I recall that most brain activity is a result of external stimuli.)

Those are two different things. It's one thing to say that the experience was the result of brain activity, and quite another to postulate a root cause of that activity.

Further, the nuns being measured were asked to remember religious experiences - measurements weren't taken during an experience, which would have been far more meaningful. Citing activity during a revisited memory as evidence of the origin of an experience is shaky ground to stand on while drawing conclusions.

They say nothing about the origin of the experience.

The study suggests that recalling an intense mystical experience results in (a) renewed mystical feelings; and (b) certain brain activity. Unless an external agent is causing the mystical feelings when it notices that you are trying to recall them, it seems reasonable to conclude that the feelings are a result of the brain activity. It also seems reasonable to conclude that the original mystical feelings were a result of the same brain activity, unless you want to offer the possibility that the original feelings were caused by some other mechanism. Meanwhile, the root cause of the original event is not postulated.

~~ Paul

 

[Jorghnassen]

I'm almost surprised this work was done at Udam...

 

[Mr. Scott]

It would depend what you mean by "addicted"....it's a rather vague term. Could you expand on what you understand it to mean?

The strict clinical sense. The following definition I found googling represents my meaning well:

Addiction is a primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug* use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving.

I believe many deeply religious people meet that definition.

*Activites like heavy aerobic exercise and perhaps religious ecstasy cause the body to produce its own drugs, like endorphins, which often act on the opiate receptors and can be involved in addictions just like legal and illegal drugs.