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PHILADELPHIA, USA, June 17, 2001: What creates that transcendental feeling of being one with the universe? Scientists are asking whether spirituality can be explained in terms of neural networks, neurotransmitters and brain chemistry. Using powerful brain imaging technology, researchers are exploring what mystics call nirvana, and what Christians describe as a state of grace. In an experiment to recreate a spiritual experience in the brain, a volunteer wears headgear that produces an electromagnetic pattern on a computer program. “The brain is set up in such a way as to have spiritual and religious experiences,” said Andrew Newberg, a Philadelphia scientist who authored the book “Why God Won’t Go Away.” “Unless there is a fundamental change in the brain, religion and spirituality will be here for a very long time. The brain is predisposed to having those experiences and that is why so many people believe in God.”

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