How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [128]
Stevens CF. Consciousness: Crick and the claustrum. Nature. 2005 Jun 23;435(7045):1040–1.
Edelstein LR, Denaro FJ. The claustrum: a historical review of its anatomy, physiology, cytochemistry and functional significance. Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2004 Sep;50(6):675–702.
Cavanna AE. The precuneus and consciousness. CNS Spectr. 2007 Jul;12(7):545–52.
5. Altemeyer B. The Authoritarians. Published online by the University of Manitoba, 2006.
6. Pape R. Dying to Win. Gibson Square, 2007.
7. Over the past ten years the Southern Baptist membership has declined from 10 percent of the American population to six percent, while more liberal institutes have rapidly increased their memberships: Lyons L. Tracking U.S. Religious Preferences Over the Decades. Gallup News Service: Religion and Social Trends, May 24, 2005.
8. Carter J. Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis. Simon and Schuster, 2005.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu on “God's Word and World Politics.” United Nations Lecture Series, March 17, 2004.
9. Luke 6:26–28. New Testament, New International Version.
10. When people have attempted to leave authoritarian religious groups like Jehovah's Witnesses, some have been harassed to the point where they are cut off from family members. The practice, known as shunning, has numerous references in the New Testament. For example:
Thessalonians 3:6: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.”
Thessalonians 3:14–15: “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”
Romans 16:17: “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”
John 10–11, NASB: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”
These passages have been used successfully in court to justify the act of shunning. As reported in New York Times on June 15, 1987, the Federal District Court ruled that “because the practice of shunning is a part of the faith of the Jehovah's Witness, we find that the ‘free exercise’ provision of the United States Constitution … precludes [the ostracized individuals] from prevailing [in receiving punitive damages]. The defendants have a constitutionally protected privilege to engage in the practice of shunning.”
11. Churches of Religious Science, Unitarian Universalists, Unity Churches, New Age congregations, many Eastern sects, and certain Sufi groups often combine a variety of spiritual philosophies in their teachings.
12. For a comprehensive evaluation and listing of religious extremist groups (as well as racist groups that masquerade as religious with titles like “Christian Identity”), see the Anti-Defamation League's website at http://www.ADL.org and click on the “extremism” link.
13. For an excellent overview of the history of American religion, see Gaustad, E.S. The Religious History of America. HarperOne, 2004.
14. Yoshii A, Constantine-Paton M. BDNF induces transport of PSD-95 to den-drites through PI3K-AKT signaling after NMDA receptor activation. Nat Neurosci. 2007 Jun;10(6):702–11.
15. Actually, the lowly sea slug did make it to the New York Times list. See: Kandel E. In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind. Norton, 2006.
16. Gaiarsa JL, Caillard O, Ben-Ari Y. Long-term plasticity at GABAergic and glycinergic synapses: mechanisms and functional significance. Trends Neurosci. 2002;25(11): 564–570.
17. The Centre for Synaptic Plasticity provides an excellent online overview of neuroplasticity. The center is a joint venture between