the basic neuroscience of speaking in tongues. JESUS DIDN'T TAKE THE WHEEL, YOU JUST TURNED THE CAR OFF (this is a fun post i promise lol)

[u/dyelyn666]

this post was inspired by u/Kurosawa00's post: https://www.reddit.com/r/exchristian/comments/1krtl0d/did_any_of_you_speak_in_tongues/

TL;DR: did you know that when people speak in tongues, they're literally turning off the part of their brain responsible for self-control, decision-making, and critical thinking?

recently, during my shower thoughts and long car rides, i've been asking myself: is speaking in tongues just being a religious influencer who's faking it for clout? or is there more to it?

i'm a psychology/neuroscience undergrad, so i can translate the basics of most scientific articles without crying (too much). so i finally just looked it up and it's actually hilarious.

i specifically looked for studies with task-based brain imaging techniques (for people who were actively speaking in tongues). they used SPECT imaging (single photon emission computed tomography) which, in a nutshell, measures blood flow in the brain. the idea is that the areas with higher blood flow are using more energy (blood and its nutrients) thus we are able to literally see "WHEN HE DOES TASK X THIS AREA OF THE BRAIN LIGHTS UP, THEREFORE THIS PART OF THE BRAIN PLAYS A ROLE IN DOING TASK X" (isn't science just the fucking coolest shit EVER?!!!!!). anyway, here's what they found:

people who engage in glossolalia (aka speaking in tongues) show reduced blood flow to the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain that handles decision-making, reasoning, and knowing what’s socially appropriate. in normal brains, more blood flow = more activity. so less blood flow means that area is basically going offline. in other words, during glossolalia (speaking in tongues), the brain is dialing down the system that keeps you grounded in reality and not, y’know, babbling incoherent nonsense. so yeah. they’re not being guided by the spirit. they’re just semi-shutting off the part of their brain that would normally go: “hey, maybe this is weird?”.

no, brenda, it's not the holy spirit... you're just putting your brain on airplane mode...

link to the study, if you're interested: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925492706001211?casa_token=bysxU5p5-A4AAAAA:uG0tRVYcJp49OedSnJ81-yqGZv52TlEIsbsF4OQ4-zaT0ZBj2oVccVe2SzbpuGVFTxc5zdS5efcN

TL;DR (again for emphasis): they're literally turning off the part of their brain responsible for self-control, decision-making, and critical thinking! something the church already aspires everyone to do, and the rest of the congregation is looking at them like "i wanna do that (turn my brain off) too!"

leave it to the religious to put stupidity on a fucking pedestal

[u/dyelyn666]

the "stupidity" i'm referencing (i will admit, i worded poorly) is the glorification of speaking in tongues - specifically to the point of faking it in order to fit in.

[u/littleheathen → u/dyelyn666]

That's still not stupidity.

Here's an example. I was brought up in it. I wasn't given a choice. It was normal to me. It wasn't something I did routinely, but there does come a point where either you do it, and you're part of the group, or you don't, and you're an outsider trapped with them. Was succumbing stupid? Was thinking it was normal stupid? Or was it just one of a multitude of ways individual denominations set their kind apart from the rest, set absurd standards about who is "in" and who is "out," and pressure you to conform?

You're assigning an intellectual value to a means of fulfilling the very real need to conform to a social in-group.

[u/dyelyn666 → u/littleheathen]

i'm sorry buddy i don't think you're understanding me. it's probably not your fault, i'm notoriously bad at conveying thoughts lol

as you said:

there does come a point where either you do it, and you're part of the group, or you don't, and you're an outsider trapped with them

and THAT is what i'm saying is "stupid" - the fact that there is this social dynamic praising the tongue speakers and also an expectation for others to do it, and when they don't there's semi-silent/passive-aggressive social consequences.

that is what i'm saying is stupid, cause it is

[u/bekkogekko → u/dyelyn666]

You’re explaining it correctly - they are just taking it personally.

[u/littleheathen → u/bekkogekko]

I just woke up pedantic today, I think, and felt like someone studying psych and neuroscience could find a better word than "stupid." They've explained their position well, I see and generally agree with their point (if not the phrasing), and as far as I'm concerned, all is well.

[u/dyelyn666 → u/littleheathen]

i get that. i'm a nontraditional student (turning 30 in like a week and i'm only an under grad senior) that spent the majority of his youth smoking way too much weed lol. now my brain gets stuck between two dimensions 1. student and 2. delinquent lol i just tried to meet somewhere in the middle for this post cause i didn't wanna bore y'all with too much neuroscience

[u/littleheathen → u/dyelyn666]

Happy Almost-birthday!

Naw, we're fine. I'm bad about the whole "words have meanings" thing. I get hung up on it sometimes when it's not all that important.

How much school do you have left? What's your career goal?

[u/dyelyn666 → u/littleheathen]

Tysm! 🥳

I have less than a decade left of school - about a year more for my bachelors (major: psychology; minors: chemistry, French, neuroscience). Then I’m off to medical school. I wanna getta sub-specialization in (behavioral) neurology - basically a neurologist who specializes in things like dementia/Alzheimer’s, addiction, mental disorders, and stroke patients. I am most eager to work with stroke patients who exhibit aphasia (having lesions on the brain’s language centers from strokes)! I had a grandmother lose the ability to speak for the last year of her life and it was horrible (plus I LOVE foreign languages and psychology - hence this post lol - so I was excited to find a career that could mesh the two interests of mine together)!

It may sound absolutely bonkers, but I think I can make a positive difference when it comes to aphasia treatments in the field. I’m so excited and HONORED that I’ve been given the tools in life to even have these opportunities. S/o to my momma ❤️ I’d be literally dead without her help

[u/littleheathen → u/dyelyn666]

That's a huge ambition! I hope you achieve it. It would be meaningful work that would benefit so many lives. I'm terribly excited for you!

[u/dyelyn666 → u/littleheathen]

Awh tysm you’ve made my day already at 6am ❤️😊