Spirituality and religion may have various effects on mental health through neurobiological correlates

1. In this study, Spirituality/Religion (S/R) may be protective against depression and alcohol use from various mechanisms, including neurobiological correlates and prayer.

2. Furthermore, the association between S/R, anxiety, psychosis, and neurobiological correlates remains uncertain.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Prior research in S/R have highlighted its positive role in improving outcomes of various mental health conditions. However, relatively little research has focused on S/R, mental health, and their neurobiological correlates. As a result, the objective of the present systematic review was to synthesize the available evidence regarding the relationship between S/R, mental health, and neurobiological correlates, as well as limitations and future directions in this area.

Of 903 identified records, 18 were included in the review from database inception to February 2021. Studies were included if they measured spirituality, mental health, and utilized neuroimaging or electrophysiology. Studies were excluded if they assessed a neurological disorder not related to mental health, or secular mindfulness/mindfulness to the exclusion of other aspects of spiritual life. Quality assessment was done following recommendations described by Sanderson et al. Screening was performed in three phases.

Results demonstrated that S/R may be protective against the development of depression especially amongst those with familial risk. In addition, S/R was associated with several neurobiological correlates (e.g. greater cortical thickness and decreased default mode network connectivity). With respect to alcohol use, prayer may reduce cravings and increase attention and control processes in the brain. However, correlations between S/R, anxiety, psychosis, and the brain remain uncertain. Despite these results, the study was limited by the fact that all research reviewed regarding S/R, neurobiology, and familial risk for depression came from the same dataset. Nonetheless, these findings highlight a need for high quality neuroimaging research to examine the relationship between S/R and various mental health disorders.

Click to read the study in Journal of Psychiatric Research 

Image: PD

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