Andrew Newberg is an American

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

who is a professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences and the director of research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is the flagship hospital of Jefferson Health, a multi-state non-profit health system based in Philadelphia. The hospital serves as the teaching hospital for Thomas Jefferson University. With 937 licensed b ...

,Jefferson University Physician Profile.

, Jefferson University Physician Profile, 2016-08-29. previously an adjunct professor of

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

and a lecturer in psychology in the Biological Basis of Behavior Program at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

.Staff/Faculty.

, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Staff/Faculty, 2016-08-29. He has been a prominent researcher in the field of nuclear medical

brain imaging Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incre ...

and

neurotheology The neuroscience of religion, also known as "neurotheology" or "spiritual neuroscience," seeks to explain the biological and neurological processes behind religious experience. Researchers in this field study correlations of the ''biological neu ...

. In particular, his research has focused on the development of neurotransmitter tracers for the evaluation of

religiosity The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines religiosity as: "Religiousness; religious feeling or belief. ..Affected or excessive religiousness". Different scholars have seen this concept as broadly about religious orientations and degrees of inv ...

as well as neurological and psychiatric disorders including

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

head injury A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, and

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Academic research

In the early 1990s, he began to research the intersection between the brain and religious and spiritual experiences. In this work, also sometimes referred to as "

", Newberg described the possible neurophysiological mechanisms associated with religious and spiritual experiences.Begley, Sharon.
Religion And The Brain
,

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

, 2001-05-07. His initial research included the use of functional brain imaging to study Buddhist meditators and

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s in prayer. He has continued to study religious and spiritual phenomena including topics related to forgiveness, meditation, prayer, spiritual development, morality, and belief. This work has been incorporated more recently into a new Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania.

Literary activities

Newberg is the author of ten books (translated into 16 languages), and over 200 articles on neuroimaging in neuropsychiatric disorders and also on neuroscience and religion. His book, ''Why God Won't Go Away'', is a popularized account of this topic which describes some of the brain imaging studies and his theories regarding the nature of religious and spiritual experiences. ''Why We Believe What We Believe'', co-authored with Mark Robert Waldman (Executive MBA Faculty, Loyola Marymount University) describes the relationship between the brain and beliefs and also describes brain imaging studies of an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and individuals speaking in tongues (or

glossolalia Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid voc ...

). A more recent book, ''How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain'', also co-authored with Waldman, is a scientific and practical look at how faith and meditation can enhance brain function. Steering away from the topic of faith, his latest book, co-authored with Mark Waldman, ''Words Can Change Your Brain'' describes how a research-based communication practice, "compassionate communication", can be used to improve brain health and interpersonal communication. The book and communication strategies are now part of the NeuroLeadership course offered in the EMBA program at Loyola Marymount University. The communication strategies have been documented and published in the ''Journal of Executive Education''.

Media appearances

Newberg's research has been featured in ''

,'' the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

,'' and the ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

.'' He has been a guest speaker at the Forum at Grace Cathedral (Includes

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links). and appeared in the films ''

What the Bleep Do We Know!? ''What the Bleep Do We Know!?'' (stylized as ''What tнē #$*! D̄ө ωΣ (k)πow!?'' and ''What the #$*! Do We Know!?'') is a 2004 American pseudo-scientific film that posits a spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness (as ...

'' and ''

Religulous ''Religulous'' () is a 2008 American documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words ''religious'' and ''ridiculous''. The documentary exam ...

''.

Reception

From the religious perspective, concerns have been raised that the study of practices such as meditation does not necessarily extrapolate to the broader array of religious and spiritual phenomena.

Works

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

AndrewNewberg.com
- official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newberg, Andrew B. 1966 births American agnostics American cognitive neuroscientists Living people Mysticism scholars Neurotheology University of Pennsylvania faculty