[…] What were these differences? They consisted of what scientists call “down-regulations” in the BOLD response. In other words, when the subjects were supposedly listening to the words of Christians with healing powers, there was much lower activity in certain areas of the brain. […] In other words, there is some reason to believe that when religious subjects listened to Christians they perceived as being charismatic—even if the speaker did not make a special effort to use persuasive words or tone of voice—they actually “turned down” the parts of their brains responsible for judging what they heard and, in Schjoedt’s words, effectively “handed them over” to someone else.
Most fascinating of all, Schjoedt points out that similar alterations in brain activity have previously been observed in people undergoing hypnosis.[…]
