Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs and Why We Believe What We Believe

Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs and Why We Believe What We Believe http://www.c-spanarchives.org/program/ID/204877
Andrew Newberg talked about his book How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neurocientist (Ballantine Books; March 24, 2009). The neuroscientist examined brain scans of memory patients and web-based surveys of people's religious and spiritual experiences. The correlations he found led him to conclude that an active spiritual life physically changes the brain, permanently strengthening neural functioning in specific parts of the brain that aid in lowering anxiety and depression, enhancing social awareness and empathy, and improving cognitive functioning. Dr. Newberg showed images of brain scans. He discussed his work on stage with meditation teacher Loch Kelly. Andrew Newberg is the director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind and an associate professor in the radiology department at the University of Pennsylvania. He co-wrote How God Changes Your Brain with Mark Robert Waldman, an associate fellow at the center. They are also the co-authors of Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs and Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth. This "Meetings of the Minds" program of the second annual "Brainwave" series was held at the Rubin Museum of Art on Sunday April 5, 2009, at 4:00 p.m.