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Kéri S. Autism and Religion. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:1417. [PMID: 37628416 PMCID: PMC10453845 DOI: 10.3390/children10081417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
The disease burden of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a definitive public health challenge. The quality of life of children with ASD depends on how the cultural environment fits their special needs, including religious and spiritual factors. Does ASD predict low religiosity, and if not, what is the significance for clinical care? To answer this question, we reviewed the literature on the cognitive models of ASD and religious beliefs. We found that the cognitive models of ASD and religious beliefs substantially overlap, which is particularly important from a developmental psychological perspective. These models include Theory of Mind and intentionality, the "broken mirror" hypothesis, central coherence, and the intense world theory. We dispute the assumption that individuals with ASD are inherently less religious and spiritual than the neurotypical population. Religiosity is possibly expressed differently in ASD with unique spiritual experiences and beliefs ("gifted, visionary, and truth-seeker"). In some circumstances, a religious background can be helpful for both children with ASD and their caregivers. These circumstances should not be neglected, and clinicians are encouraged to consider patients' religious context, resources, and needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Szabolcs Kéri
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Hungary;
- National Institute of Mental Health, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, 1145 Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Physiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary
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Sympathy-Empathy and the Radicalization of Young People. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 9:children9121889. [PMID: 36553332 PMCID: PMC9777530 DOI: 10.3390/children9121889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The sympathy-empathy (SE) system is commonly considered a key faculty implied in prosocial behaviors, and SE deficits (also called callous-unemotional traits, CUTs) are associated with nonprosocial and even violent behaviors. Thus, the first intuitive considerations considered a lack of SE among young people who undergo radicalization. Yet, their identification with a cause, their underlying feelings of injustice and grievance, and the other ways in which they may help communities, suggest that they may actually have a lot of empathy, even an excess of it. As a consequence, the links between SE and radicalization remain to be specified. This critical review aims to discuss whether and how SE is associated with developmental trajectories that lead young people to radicalization. METHOD We first recall the most recent findings about SE development, based on an interdisciplinary perspective informed by social neuroscience. Then, we review sociological and psychological studies that address radicalization. We will critically examine the intersections between SE and radicalization, including neuroscientific bases and anthropologic modulation of SE by social factors involved in radicalization. RESULTS This critical review indicates that the SE model should clearly distinguish between sympathy and empathy within the SE system. Using this model, we identified three possible trajectories in young radicalized individuals. In individuals with SE deficit, the legitimization of violence is enough to engage in radicalization. Concerning individuals with normal SE, we hypothesize two trajectories. First, based on SE inhibition/desensitization, individuals can temporarily join youths who lack empathy. Second, based on an SE dissociation, combining emotional sympathy increases for the in-group and cognitive empathy decreases toward the out-group. CONCLUSIONS While confirming that a lack of empathy can favor radicalization, the counterintuitive hypothesis of a favorable SE development trajectory also needs to be considered to better specify the cognitive and affective aspects of this complex phenomenon.
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Cristofori I, Zhong W, Cohen-Zimerman S, Bulbulia J, Gordon B, Krueger F, Grafman J. Brain networks involved in the influence of religion on empathy in male Vietnam War veterans. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11047. [PMID: 34040097 PMCID: PMC8155118 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90481-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans all over the world believe in spirits and deities, yet how the brain supports religious cognition remains unclear. Drawing on a unique sample of patients with penetrating traumatic brain injuries (pTBI) and matched healthy controls (HCs) we investigate dependencies of religious cognition on neural networks that represent (1) others agents’ intentions (Theory of Mind, ToM) and (2) other agents’ feelings (Empathy). Extending previous observations that ToM networks are recruited during prayer, we find that people with vmPFC damage report higher scores on the personal relationship with God inventory even when they are not praying. This result offers evidence that it is the modulation of ToM networks that support beliefs in supernatural agents. With respect to empathetic processing, we observed that vmPFC and pSTS/TPJ lesions mediated by the strength of the personal relationship with God affect empathetic responses. We suggest that the neurological networks underpinning God representations amplify human empathetic responses. The cultural evolutionary study of religion has argued that supernatural beliefs evoke pro-social responses because people fear the wrath of Gods. Our findings imply greater attention should be paid to the mechanisms by which religious cognition may regulate empathetic responses to others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Cristofori
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod CNRS, UMR 5229, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675, Bron, France. .,University of Lyon, Etablissement 1, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Wanting Zhong
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Shira Cohen-Zimerman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Joseph Bulbulia
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.,Max Plank Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Barry Gordon
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Frank Krueger
- School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.,Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Jordan Grafman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer's Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
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