Neurologic Constraints on Evolutionary Theories of Religion

Abstract

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience a selective depletion of neostriatal and meso-frontal dopaminedopamine and thus provide an ideal model for assessing potential dopaminergic influences on religious cognitioncognition and experience. We review three specific studies conducted in our laboratory focusing on reports of various facets of religiousnessreligiousness in patients with PD. We find that (1) there is a reduction in self-reported religiousness among these patients as compared to healthy age-matched controls; (2) PD patients with left-onset diseasedisease (right hemispheric impairment), report less detailed religious ritualritual action scripts; and (3) PD patients are less able to recall and access religious experiences. Our findings are consistent with adaptive theories of religion that point to evidence for functional design of religious cognition.