How does the mind experience the sacred? What biological mechanisms are involved in mystical states and trances? Is there a neurological basis for patterns in comparative religions? Does religion have an evolutionary function? This pathbreaking work by two leading medical researchers explores the neurophysiology of religious experience. Building on an explanation of the basic structure of the brain, the authors focus on parts most relevant to human experience, emotion, and cognition. On this basis, they plot how the brain is involved in mystical experiences. Successive chapters apply this...

PET imaging has shown its value in diagnosing diseases affecting older people.? Most significantly this has been with regard to the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.? Parkinson's disease is another condition in which PET has proved valuable.? This issue also included articles on the uses of PET for diagnosing cerebrovascular disease and for assessing neuroplasticity.

Since PET was first introduced clinically, brain tumors have been an important area for its use.? Diagnosing the cause of patients experiencing seizures has been an additional area for which PET has demonstrated its value.? PET imaging is also being investigated for the understanding of depression and other psychiatric disorders.? Also the challenges for developing radiotracers is reviewed in a separate article.

Andrew Newberg explores the latest findings of neurotheology, the multidisciplinary field linking neuroscience with religious and spiritual phenomena. He investigates some of the most controversial-and potentially transformative-implications of a neurotheological approach.