Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2019 Sep/Oct;27(5):303-316. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000232.
Religion and spirituality (R/S) have been prominent aspects of most human cultures through the ages; however, scientific inquiry into this phenomenon has been limited. We conducted a systematic literature review of research on the neurobiological correlates of R/S, which resulted in 25 reports studying primarily R/S with electroencephalography, structural neuroimaging (MRI), and functional neuroimaging (fMRI, PET). These studies investigated a wide range of religions (e.g., Christianity, Buddhism, Islam) and R/S states and behaviors (e.g., resting state, prayer, judgments) and employed a wide range of methodologies, some of which (e.g., no control group, varying measures of religiosity, small sample sizes) raise concerns about the validity of the results. Despite these limitations, the findings of these studies collectively suggest that the experience of R/S has specific neurobiological correlates and that these correlates are distinct from non-R/S counterparts. The findings implicate several brain regions potentially associated with R/S development and behavior, including the medial frontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, default mode network, and caudate. This research may suggest future clinical applications and interventions related to R/S and various disorders, including mood, anxiety, psychotic, pain, and vertiginous disorders. Further studies with more rigorous study designs are warranted to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms of R/S and their potential clinical applications.
宗教和灵性（R/S）是大多数人类文化从古至今的突出特征；然而，对这一现象的科学研究一直受到限制。我们对 R/S 的神经生物学相关性进行了系统的文献回顾，共产生了 25 项研究报告，主要使用脑电图、结构神经影像学（MRI）和功能神经影像学（fMRI、PET）研究 R/S。这些研究调查了广泛的宗教（例如基督教、佛教、伊斯兰教）和 R/S 状态和行为（例如静息状态、祈祷、判断），并采用了广泛的方法学，其中一些方法（例如无对照组、宗教信仰的测量方法不同、样本量小）引起了对结果有效性的担忧。尽管存在这些局限性，这些研究的结果表明，R/S 的体验具有特定的神经生物学相关性，并且这些相关性与非 R/S 对应物不同。这些发现暗示了几个可能与 R/S 发展和行为相关的大脑区域，包括内侧前额叶皮质、眶额皮质、楔前叶、后扣带回皮质、默认模式网络和尾状核。这项研究可能为 R/S 及其与各种疾病的未来临床应用和干预提供依据，包括情绪、焦虑、精神病、疼痛和眩晕障碍。需要进行更严格的研究设计的进一步研究来阐明 R/S 的神经生物学机制及其潜在的临床应用。
