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Neuroscience of Prayer: Current Research

James A. Van Slyke
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Prayer and the Reward Systems of
the Brain (Schjodt et. al. 2008)
Research from the University of Aarhous, Denmark
Participants
Protestant Danish Christians
20 participants (mean age 25.4)
6 males
14 females
Experimental Conditions
Two Different forms of prayer analyzed
Formal prayer (Ritualistic, scripted) = Lords Prayer
Informal prayer (Low structure, improvised)

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Prayer and the Reward Systems of
the Brain (Schjodt et. al. 2008)
Control Conditions
Well known rhyme (Control formal)
Asking for gifts from Santa Claus (Control informal)
Baseline (Counting back from 100)
Procedure
Each participant went through both the experimental and control
conditions
Tasks were prompted by headphones and lasted 30 seconds
(repeated 6 times)
Tasks were performed silently using internal speech
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Prayer and the Reward Systems of
the Brain (Schjodt et. al. 2008)
During the Tasks brain activity was assess using fMRI
MRI Magentic resonance imaging
Provides structural layout of the brain
Similar to an X-ray
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
Estimates areas of the brain active during a task
BOLD response
Measures the amount of blood oxygenation levels in the brain
Higher oxygenation = higher levels of brain activity



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Reward Systems of the Brain:
Striatum, Caudate Nucleus and
Putamen
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Reward Systems both anticipate and estimate future rewards
May be involved in both early and later stages of addiction
May play a role in habitual behavior in terms of reward
Caudate Nucleus
Instrumental conditioning
Reward systems increase the likelihood of repeating certain
behaviors learned through experience
Damage to this area may induce symptoms of Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD has been linked with increased activity in the caudate

Reward Systems of the Brain:
Striatum, Caudate Nucleus and
Putamen
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Prayer and the Reward Systems of
the Brain (Schjodt 2008)
Hypothesis: Prayers will activate the reward systems of the
brain (Caudate nucleus)
Results
Both prayer conditions showed increased activity in the caudate and
decreased activity during controls
Formal prayer showed a slightly higher activation
Participants self-reported as strong believers
Self-reported as involved in a weekly practice of prayer (Lords
prayer mean = 4.75; Personal prayer mean =19.75
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Social Cognition and Prayer
(Schjoedt et. al. 2009)
Follow up analysis
Used same set of experimental and control conditions
Expanded fMRI analysis to include areas of the brain used in
social cognition
Hypothesis: Personal (non-formal) prayer activates areas of the
brain used in social cognition
Praying to God is an intersubjective experience similar to
general aspects of interpersonal interaction between persons
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Understanding Social Cognition
Social and Affective Neuroscience
Areas of the brain seem to be
specialized for dealing with social
relationships
Emotional evaluation; Estimating
levels of trust
Areas of the brain from this study
Precuneas
Higher order cognitive functions
Often involved in self-referential
behavior (information important for
the self
Schjodt et. al. interpretation
Prayer involves information
important for the self (i.e. desires or
problems

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Understanding Social Cognition
MPFC (Medial
Prefrontal
Cortex)

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The Famous Case of Phineas
Gage
Before accident
Intelligent
capable worker
excellent manager
responsible family man
upstanding citizen
After Accident
Maintained his general intelligence
Unreliable and capricious
Socially Inappropriate
Lost his family and fortune
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Case of Elliott
Before
good husband and father
high level job at business firm
had attained an enviable social status
Post surgery, tumor removed in
orbital frontal area
irresponsible
unable to manage his time
flawed decision making
Divorced; entered unwise marriage
lost his job
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Case of Elliot
Laboratory test results
maintained superior IQ (WAIS)
flawless memory
superior language ability
normal on lab tests of financial and ethical decision
making
normal lab ability to generate solutions to social
problems
Could predict social consequences
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Galvanic Skin Response
(Measures Moisture in skin)
Iowa Gambling Task
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Gambling game
Test of decisions and consequences
normal individuals develop anticipatory evaluative autonomic
response (mini emotional response)
Elliot was never able to develop a discriminatory anticipation
while choosing from the bad decks
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Follow up study to Elliott
NORMALS
In normal participants (no MPFC lesions), anticipatory skin conductive
responses (SCRs) occurred at around 20 deck choices when selecting from
the bad decks, despite participants not forming a conscious hunch until
around 50 selections.

Generally by card 80, normal participants could articulate what was occurring
with respect to good decks and bad decks

30 % did not have a conceptual understanding of the task but still made
advantageous decisions.

VMPFC LESION PARTICIPANTS
The few participants who made it to the conceptualization phase still were
making disadvantageous decisions

No anticipatory SCRs were experienced by any of the participants with VMPFC
damage
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Other regions of interest
Temporopolar region
Associated with autobiographical memory
Processing of social narratives
Personal prayer requires memory of how God has answered
prayers in the past (Schjoedt interpretation)
Temporo-parietal junction
Analyzing behavior
Processing social causation and goal attribution
Praying to God may be a type of negotiation; hoping to change
Gods intentions toward a situation (Schjoedt interpretation)


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Findings
For each one of the areas of the brain selected for analysis
there was a higher level of activation in relation to personal
prayer than the other conditions
Theory of Mind
Many of the areas investigated have also been linked with TOM
TOM is the ability to understand the thoughts and intentions of
others (Mind-Reading)
Important part of social life
Deficit in persons with Autism
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Power of Charisma (2010)
Participants (n=37)
Males = 15
Females = 22
Christians = 18 (mean age 23)
Pentecostal
Frequent prayers (intercessory for 12 years; 33 times per month)
Secular = 18 (mean age 26.4)
No belief in God
No belief in the effect of prayer

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Power of Charisma (2010)
Procedure
Participants listened to 18 different prayers performed by males
Prayers were listed in three categories
Non-Christian (6)
Christian (6)
Christian known for being able to heal through prayer (6)
In reality all prayers were recorded by a single group of Christians
and than randomly assigned to each group
Each prayer lasted 30 s
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Power of Charisma (2010)
Results
Christians rated speakers charisma and presence of God for all
three conditions
Highest for healing powers lowest for non-Christians
God was reported as present in all conditions
Non-Christians showed a similar but lower pattern for charisma, but
no real difference for experiencing Gods presence
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Power of Charisma (2010)
Results
Secular participants no real difference in brain activation for the
three groups
Christian groups
Cascade effect from non-Christian (N-C) to healing powers (HP)
group
Higher levels of activation for N-C and lower levels for Christian
and HP group
Different areas of the brain Prefrontal cortex; temporoparietal
junction; inferior temporal cortex; temporopolar/ orbitofrontal;
cerebellum
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Power of Charisma (2010)
Discussion
Watching pictures of loved ones can deactivate executive system
(Bartels and Zeki 2000; 2004)
Could be neural subsystem involved in trust?
Takes more cognitive power to override prayer given by NC group
Schjoedt interpretation
Intercessory prayer similar to hypnosis
Handing over of executive function to the leader
Power of prayer based on the perceived charismatic authority of
healer or leader (Max Weber 1922)

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Critiques (Spezio 2011)
The problem of reverse inference
Prayer activity linked with a brain area
Other studies link the area with some function
Thus, the same function is present in current study
Without specific test in experiment for assumed function, it is
difficult to make causal interpretations
Most areas of the brain participate in numerous overlapping
functions; difficult to limit areas of the brain to one function
fMRI studies should be taken seriously, but still tentatively