Experts locate brain's 'God spots'
Scientists in Maryland carried out the study on religious beliefs
All people have parts of the brain which are activated by thoughts related to religion and God, new US research has revealed.
The report by scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Maryland revealed that both atheists and believers in religion use several specific parts of their brain when considering statements related to faith.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, the study asked 26 volunteers to consider moral problems and questions while having their brain activity analysed by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.
It was found that people used similar areas of their brain to consider the issues, which suggests that faith in religions can be linked to other belief systems regularly used by humans.
Professor Jordan Grafman, who led the research, told the Independent: "There is nothing unique about religious belief in these brain structures.
"Religion doesn't have a 'God spot' as such, instead it's embedded in a whole range of other belief systems in the brain that we use every day."
The findings back up research undertaken by experts from the University of Montreal last year, which studied nuns and found that several parts of their brains were activated when recounting religious experiences.
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