The God receptor: naturalistic, psychotic and entheogenic neurocognition in the origins and phenomenology of spiritual and religious thought

Summary

The human brain does not have a specific network or region dedicated to spiritual or religious thought. Instead, the hypothesis suggests that religious and spiritual cognition arises mainly from the effects of HT2A receptors, which influence perception, cognition, and emotion. This idea is supported by data from fMRI and lesion studies, as well as research on HT2A receptor activation in various contexts such as psychedelics and stress. Understanding spirituality and religion may require further studies on HT2A receptor activation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The human brain apparently harbors no network or region uniquely dedicated to spiritual or religious thought, or clearly evolved specifically in these contexts. God is thus nowhere in the brain. Could God, instead, be virtually everywhere in the brain? We propose and evaluate the hypothesis that religious and spiritual cognition are derived predominantly from the effects of (virtually ubiquitous) HT2A receptors on perception, cognition and emotion. We evaluate the hypothesis using integration of data from recent fMRI and lesion studies of spiritual and religious neurocognition with data from studies of the HT2A receptor, its distribution, activation, and functions, and its high activation in psychedelic experience, psychiatric conditions, and socioecological and physiological stress. We describe how the God-receptor hypothesis is consistent with diverse, independent lines of evidence. To the extent that the hypothesis is true, further progress in understanding the cognitive neuroscience of spirituality and religion will depend on studies of how adaptive HT2A receptor activation, and supraphysiological hyperactivation associated with stress, psychedelics, or psychotic-affective conditions, is mediated by predictive coding and other functional systems in religion-relevant regions of the brain.