Seizures and the Sight of God :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Seizures and the Sight of immortal Researchers interested in the connection of the brain and religion have examined the experiences of tribe suffering from profane Lobe Epilepsy. Apparently the increased electrical activity in the brain resulting from seizure activity (abnormal electrical activity within locate portions of the brain), makes sufferers more susceptible to having phantasmal experiences including visions of occult arts beings and near death experiences (NDEs) (9). Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) sufferers also may become increasingly obsessed with religion, the study and invest of it (1). Why is it that this form of epilepsy results in religious experiences among the other supernatural experiences feasible? Can people who have never studied or safe religion be susceptible to these same religious experiences? Why do some interested researchers claim that such notable figures as capital of Minnesota on the road to Damascus, Joan of Arc, Ellen White of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and other persons suffered from TLE because of their range of inform experiences with God, angels, and demons (1,3)? In my first paper, I highlighted the connection scientists have made mingled with religious experience and the brain. In this paper, I intend to focus on Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, as one of those connections, specifically the symptom of hyperreligiousity. In 1997 Vilayanur Ramachandran and his colleagues from the University of calcium at San Diego headed a research study. The team studied patients of temporal lobe epilepsy cadence galvanic skin response on the left hands of the patients (11). This step allowed the research team to monitor arousal (specific autonomic nervous organization response) and indirectly surmise the communication between the inferior temporal lobe and the amygdala, twain important in response related to fear and arousal (9). In addition to two control assemblages a religious control group and a non-religious control group, each group was shown forty words, including violent words, intimate words, and simple words (like wheel), and finally, religious-related words. The results of the study showed a greater arousal in the temporal lobe epilepsy sufferers to religious words in comparison to the non-religious, whom were fire by sexual words, and religious control groups, whom were aroused by religious and sexual words (10). Ramachandran and his team concluded that although the patients were not experiencing seizures or experiencing supernatural occurrences at the time of testing, they were highly sensitive to religious words. Thus, the experiences of temporal lobe seizures alter the patients interest in religion (11).