UNITED STATES
Times of Israel
Michael J. Salamon
It is an established socio-psychological principle that the culture a child is reared in has an impact on how they perceive the world. There is evidence that culture impacts play, social engagement and emotional understanding. It stands to reason that childhood experiences may also have an impact on brain development. A recent line of research supports that notion.
A study documented in the journal Neuropsychologia reported that individuals who have a strong belief in religious fundamentalism tend to have brain damage linked deformities. These abnormalities appear to occur in a region of the brain called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). While the initial study was performed on individuals who suffered a documented traumatic brain injury other more recent studies have found similar results in larger samples of people. These studies provide insight into portions of the brain involved in processing emotions, questioning, and cognitive flexibility. If these correlational studies are borne out the link between damage and fundamentalism is a finding with interesting implications.
All people have a belief system. Even atheists and agnostics have strong beliefs. Their beliefs revolve around skepticism of the existence of a higher power and nonexistence of god. Religious fundamentalists, on the other hand, tend to reject progressive thoughts or doubts about what they believe. Somewhat paradoxically the current state of the research indicates that those who question have more intact vmPFC areas than fundamentalists even though they also have beliefs.
There is more that science has revealed about this area of the brain. Brain function researchers have found that the vmPFC, in addition to mediating beliefs, is linked with the processing of ones’ sense of self. People with damage to the vmPFC tend to make bad decisions, they show poor judgement and are often socially detached. The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), where the vmPFC resides, if damaged, is also linked to violence. Most importantly, this region of the brain is highly integrated with the limbic system, that system of structures in the brain that include the amygdala and hippocampus which are the structures that mediate emotions and memories.
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