Association of posterior EEG alpha with prioritization of religion or spirituality: a replication and extension at 20-year follow-up
Craig E. Tenke1,3, Jürgen Kayser1,3, Connie Svob 2,3, Lisa Miller3,4, Jorge E. Alvarenga1, Karen S. Abraham1, Virginia Warner2,5, Priya Wickramaratne2,3,5, Myrna M. Weissman2,3,5, Gerard E. Bruder1,3
1Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; 2Division of Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; 3Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA; 4Columbia University, Teachers College, New York, NY, USA; 5Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
Received 2 August 2016; revised 12 December 2016; accepted 15 January 2017; published online 23 January 2017.
Abstract
A prior report (Tenke et al. 2013 Biol. Psychol. 94:426-432) found that participants who rated religion or spirituality (R/S) highly important had greater posterior alpha after 10 years compared to those who did not. Participants who subsequently lowered their rating also had prominent alpha, while those who increased their rating did not. Here we report EEG findings 20 years after initial assessment. Clinical evaluations and R/S ratings were obtained from 73 (52 new) participants in a longitudinal study of family risk for depression. Frequency PCA of current source density transformed EEG concisely quantified posterior alpha. Those who initially rated R/S as highly important had greater alpha compared to those who did not, even if their R/S rating later increased. Furthermore, changes in religious denomination were associated with decreased alpha. Results suggest the possibility of a critical stage in the ontogenesis of R/S that is linked to posterior resting alpha.
Key Words: EEG alpha; religion and spirituality; current source density (CSD); principal components analysis (PCA); depression risk; development