Dipartimento di Filosofia, Università di Udine, via Margreth, 3, I-33100, Udine, Italy.
Neuron. 2010 Feb 11;65(3):309-19. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.026.
The predisposition of human beings toward spiritual feeling, thinking, and behaviors is measured by a supposedly stable personality trait called self-transcendence. Although a few neuroimaging studies suggest that neural activation of a large fronto-parieto-temporal network may underpin a variety of spiritual experiences, information on the causative link between such a network and spirituality is lacking. Combining pre- and post-neurosurgery personality assessment with advanced brain-lesion mapping techniques, we found that selective damage to left and right inferior posterior parietal regions induced a specific increase of self-transcendence. Therefore, modifications of neural activity in temporoparietal areas may induce unusually fast modulations of a stable personality trait related to transcendental self-referential awareness. These results hint at the active, crucial role of left and right parietal systems in determining self-transcendence and cast new light on the neurobiological bases of altered spiritual and religious attitudes and behaviors in neurological and mental disorders.
人类对精神感受、思维和行为的倾向可以通过一种被称为“超越自我”的稳定人格特质来衡量。虽然一些神经影像学研究表明，额顶颞叶网络的神经激活可能是各种精神体验的基础，但缺乏关于这种网络与精神性之间因果关系的信息。我们结合神经外科前后的人格评估和先进的大脑损伤映射技术，发现选择性地损伤左右下顶后区域会导致超越自我的特定增加。因此，颞顶区域神经活动的改变可能会引起与超越自我相关的稳定人格特质的异常快速调节。这些结果提示左右顶叶系统在决定超越自我方面起着积极和关键的作用，并为神经和精神障碍中改变的精神和宗教态度和行为的神经生物学基础提供了新的线索。
