| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Michael Gray" |
| Date: |
04 Jan 2008 04:31:32 AM |
| Object: |
AA: What is the soul, but a humble Pineal gland? |
Is the seat of the soul in the brain?
15 December 2007
"PERHAPS René Descartes was right when he argued in 1649 that the
pineal gland is the seat of the soul. Brain scans suggest that the
area surrounding the gland is activated when people meditate.
"There is no definition of 'soul' in the scientific field," says
Jyh-Horng Chen of the National Taiwan University in Taipei, co-leader
of the study. "However, our results demonstrate a correlation between
pineal activation and religious meditation which might have profound
implications in the physiological understanding of mind, spirit and
soul."
Chen and his colleagues took fMRI scans of the brains of 11 men and 9
women as they practised a meditation technique called Chinese original
quiet sitting. Their pineal areas were most active in the first phase,
when practitioners silently recite religious mantras and try to get
themselves into the right frame of mind prior to a prolonged
relaxation phase.
The gland's main function is to secrete melatonin, a hormone which
regulates the biological clock. Chen speculates that it may also play
a role in the "intrinsic awareness" of spirituality.
Not everyone is convinced. "I am sceptical, given the complete lack of
evidence for any function of the pineal gland other than melatonin
secretion," says Bruce O'Hara of the University of Kentucky in
Lexington, whose 2005 study showed that meditation improved alertness.
The scans were reported online at Nature Precedings, a site run by the
journal Nature which invites unpublished but intriguing studies."
<http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19626344.900-is-the-seat-of-the-soul-in-the-brain.html>
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
The State is but an artificial man, with sovereignty as soul, officers as joints, reward and punishment as nerves, wealth as strength, laws as reason.
god loves YOU but not them!
Re: stop abortion but murder Iraqi kids
Neo-Cons say Bush bad but so was Clinton?
man...this is harsh....but I like it
OT: Recovery, but it's the war that matters
OT: Two Shrines Intact, but U.S Reputation Still Marred After Clashes With Rebels
A fair bet, but wrong
| Papa Bush had his own Swift Boat Liars, but Dukakis ignored them....
OT: Bush's security plan now rests on nothing but hope
Chinese Christians Are a Force, But What Kind?
Re: Understanding evolution, but still believing creation
OT: Happiness may be in the mind but the state still has a role to play
OT: It Was Once Ground Zero. Now Little but Danger Is Left.
Not God, but man saves lives & prevents suffering yet again.
|
|
|
