Did you know that spirituality has proven neurological benefits? It might sound far-fetched, but it’s true. “How can this be?” I hear you ask. Before we get into the nuts and bolts, let’s understand what spirituality actually is in this context, because it's notoriously vague and means different things to different people.
Researchers who study spirituality and its effects define it along the lines of, “A relationship with or connection to something greater than the self, primarily experienced through meaning, purpose, awe and values, and lived through practices or inner engagement.” In a nutshell, it’s about actively dedicating part of yourself to something greater than yourself – to something that gives you purpose, to something that provides a North Star to live by. When you develop this spiritual relationship, amazing things can happen in the brain.
Over the past several decades, fascinating research has emerged regarding the relationship between brain structure, spirituality and depression. These studies often describe a buffering effect of religiosity toward depression[1, 2, 3]. This is to say that people who are more religious are on average less depressed. Dr. Lisa Millar of Columbia University is one of the stars of this field (I recommend her very easily read books The Awakened Brain and The Spiritual Child). In one decade-long study, Miller and her colleagues found a strikingly large correlation between spirituality and depression[4]. People with a high degree of self-reported spirituality were, once other factors such as lifestyle and socioeconomics were controlled for, 90% less likely to experience major depressive disorder over the 10-year study period. That’s a very significant response – 100% less likely would mean that they never experience major depressive disorder at all*.
A follow-up neuroimaging study identified the possible root of this connection in the brain[5]. Cortical thickness throughout the superior parietal and occipital lobes of the brain were on average reduced in people who suffer major depressive disorder or had a familial risk of the diagnosis. Conversely, these areas were thicker in people within the highly spiritual study group. These regions of the brain are involved in awareness of the self in relation to the environment – particularly the boundary between self and other (a distinction often softened during spiritual experience) – and our ability to interpret meaning in the world around us. Taken together, the authors suggest that the changes in brain structure correlated with spirituality, may provide a buffering capacity toward the effects of depression and a “relative resilience against developing depression”, especially in those who are pre-disposed to the illness.
The study revealed three other effects. Firstly, differences in brain structure are associated with sustained use of these regions over time. That is, the more you engage these neural networks, the more they grow. Secondly, attendance to religious institutions alone is not a predictor of more resilient brain architecture. The researchers note that some people attend religious institutes for reasons other than to advance spirituality. Familial or social pressure, or a perceived but not wholly believed benefit can bring people to the pew. The researchers stress that it’s the beliefs and experiences behind the spiritual action that is important, not the action itself. What they’re saying is that you have to really believe in it to get the neurological benefits. That’s a bit of a mind bender in itself! Thirdly, individuals predisposed to depression experience more pronounced effects from spiritual activity compared to those without such predispositions (i.e. their spiritual experiences were more intense). This shows that depression isn’t an inactivation of the affected neural networks, it’s a dysregulation. The networks are active and firing – they’re intensely searching for meaning – they’re just continuously missing the mark.
The authors point out their findings are consistent with those of other imaging studies of spiritual and religious experience, as well as those on the effects of meditation. Newberg et al. (2003)[6] found increased blood flow in various brain regions during meditative prayer. Lazar et al. (2005)[7] found that adults who meditate regularly have a thicker prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula as well as increased activity in the prefrontal cortex. Hölzel et al. (2011)[8] found not just correlation, but causation: 16 healthy, meditation-naive participants who underwent meditation training for eight weeks developed increased grey matter density in the left hippocampus, posterior cingulate cortex and temporoparietal junction after the completion of the course. These are areas involved in narrative memory (i.e. the contextual detail of emotional events), the integration of sensory, emotional, and social information, empathy, compassion, and moral reasoning, to name a few.
The brain’s default mode network (DMN), which is the control centre for self-referential thinking, also shows a dualistic response to spiritual practice[9]. During depression the DMN is often overactive, leading to rumination and negative thought spirals. In underactive states, such as those produced through meditation, it enables a wider, less self-focused, reflective awareness, i.e. empathy. Thus, from a neuroscientific perspective, the same circuitry that produces self-focused suffering under one mode of operation produces transcendence and meaning under another.
The studies are conclusive: depression and spirituality share an underlying neurological basis. One experience represents collapse or desynchronisation in the affected neural architecture and the other represents integration and coherence. The brain structures that support meaning and connection also underlie vulnerability to loss of meaning, isolation and despair. Spirituality and depression are two sides of the same neurological coin. Practically, this means that spirituality – or specifically, spiritual practice that is felt and wholly believed – can help buffer against the effects and onset of depression.
When I started meditating I thought I was one of the lucky ones – it just worked for me and the 15 minutes went by in a flash. But I didn’t understand the mechanism. Later I realised it was because I was depressed. My brain, already searching for meaning and purpose, was primed and ready for a deeper spiritual connection. Meditation, which connects us to our/the higher power by breaking down the self-other boundary, slotted into those networks like a key into a lock. I continuously find through my courses that people who are a bit blue actually have an advantage when it comes to learning this new skill. So next time you’re down, think of it as an invitation – your brain is ready for meaningful connection and is asking you to embrace the healing power of spirituality.
*The study was conducted specifically on major depressive disorder (MDD), a formal psychiatric diagnosis. MDD is a subtype of depression that is very closely related to the broader and more general ‘depression’. It is characterised by more intense and longer lasting symptoms. MDD was chosen because, as a formal diagnosis, it is easier to study than depression generally. The authors highlight the relationship between the two.
References
[1] Braam, A. W., Beekman, A. T., Deeg, D. J., Smit, J. H., & van Tilburg, W. (1997). Religiosity as a protective or prognostic factor of depression in later life: Results from a community survey in the Netherlands. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 96(3), 199–205.
[2] Smith, T. B., McCullough, M. E., & Poll, J. (2003). Religiousness and depression: Evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 614–636.
[3] Koenig, H. G., George, L. K., & Peterson, B. L. (1998). Religiosity and remission of depression in medically ill older patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155(4), 536–542.
[4] Miller, L., & Weissman, M. M. (2013). Maternal religiousness and offspring depression: A 10-year follow-up. Journal of Affective Disorders, 136(3), 128–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.10.019
[5] Miller, L., Bansal, R., Wickramaratne, P., Hao, X., Tenke, C. E., Weissman, M. M., & Peterson, B. S. (2014). Neuroanatomical correlates of religiosity and spirituality: A study in adults at high and low familial risk for depression. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(2), 128–135. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.3067
[6] Newberg, A., Pourdehnad, M., Alavi, A., & d’Aquili, E. G. (2003). Cerebral blood flow during meditative prayer: Preliminary findings and methodological issues. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 97(2), 625–630.
[7] Lazar, S. W., Kerr C. E., & Wasserman R. H (2005). Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport, 16(17), 1893- 1897.
[8] Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S. M., Gard, T., & Lazar, S. W. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research, 191(1), 36–43.
[9] Brewer, J. A., Worhunsky, P. D., Gray, J. R., Tang, Y.-Y., Weber, J., & Kober, H. (2011). Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(50), 20254–20259. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1112029108
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