Neuroscience, Selflessness, and Spiritual Experience. Explaining the Science of Transcendence

Authors

Brick Johnstone Retired Professor, Department of Health Psychology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA. Dr. Johnstone has expertise in the integration of the neurosciences and humanities, completing two fellowships sponsored by the Templeton Foundation, including one on "Religious Experiences and Moral Behaviours� in Princeton, and one on "Religion and Science� in Oxford, both of which involved internationally renowned theologians, philosophers, and neuroscientists. He has long-term expertise in neuropsychology, having served as the primary investigator of a TBI Model System Center, and was selected by the CDC to serve on an expert panel to write a report on TBI rehabilitation for the federal Congress in 2012. He is the author of more than 90 publications on the neurobiological foundations of spiritual experience Daniel Cohen Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA. Dr. Cohen has degrees in anthropology and biology, and his research focuses on the intersection of religious studies, neuropsychology, and neuroscience. He completed a Fulbright-Hays fellowship in India where he studied cultural interpretations and traditional religious resources used in treating mental health disorders (as understood by western standards), physical ailments, and social tensions. He has published numerous articles on the neuropsychology of spiritual experiences, including studies involving U.S. and South Asian populations.