William Atkins
Sunday, 12 October 2008 21:25
Science -
Biology
Page 2 of 3
The researchers then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity in the subjects during viewing of the religious painting. The fMRI scans measure blood-oxygen variations within the central nervous system. High activity within the brain relates to higher levels of oxygen.
The subjects were also asked to rate the intensity of the pain, along with a rating of like or dislike for each painting.
They found that the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) of the brain had increased activity for the Catholic group of subjects when viewing the painting of the Virgin Mary. The non-religious group did not have this higher brain activity.
The VLPFC part of the brain is associated with pain relief and pain resistance, along with pain perception.
Both groups had increased activity in the striatum portion of the brain—which shows pain perception.
The religious group, as a whole, also reported less pain even though both groups—the religious and non-religious—showed similar pain sensitivities before the trials were conducted.
Reactions from the Catholic group included such descriptions as
“… feeling calmed down and peaceful,” “… taken care of,” and
“…felt compassion and support.” [Ciência: “
I have faith, therefore, I have less pain”]
The non-religious group did not show decreased pain during the showings of the non-religious painting.
The researchers found that the Catholics liked the Virgin Mary painting more than the non-religious group—as expected. The atheists and agnostics preferred the non-religious painting and, in fact, had negative feelings for the painting of the Virgin Mary.
Page three brings comments from the researchers and how this research could help pain relief in the future.
