The measurement of regional cerebral blood flow during glossolalia: a preliminary SPECT study.
Glossolalia (or "speaking in tongues") is an unusual mental state that has great personal and religious meaning. Glossolalia is experienced as a normal and expected behavior in religious prayer groups in which the individual appears to be speaking in an incomprehensible language. This is the first functional neuroimaging study to demonstrate changes in cerebral activity during glossolalia. The frontal lobes, parietal lobes, and left caudate were most affected.
Newberg
Andrew B
AB
Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Wintering
Nancy A
NA
Morgan
Donna
D
Waldman
Mark R
MR
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002835:Christianity; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*