Abstract
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.
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Amygdala / blood supply
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Amygdala / diagnostic imaging
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Brain / blood supply*
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Brain / diagnostic imaging
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Caudate Nucleus / blood supply
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Caudate Nucleus / diagnostic imaging
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Christianity*
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Dominance, Cerebral / physiology
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Female
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Frontal Lobe / blood supply
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Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
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Humans
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Language*
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Middle Aged
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Parietal Lobe / blood supply
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Parietal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
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Regional Blood Flow / physiology
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Religion and Psychology*
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Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*
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Verbal Behavior / physiology*