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Background: Recent advances in biology and medicine have revolutionized human knowledge on the brain and neurology. This has resulted in the emergence of psychological theories on religious beliefs and experiences in different cultures. This review article deals with religious experiences from a neurologic perspective. Materials and Methods: Functional imaging techniques such as SPECT, positron emission tomography (PET), and functional MRI (fMRI) allow for the study of brain functions of religious individuals. Religious acts activate a circuit in the brain site which is known as religious circuit that involves the amygdale, the hippocampus, the limbic system, the anterior temporal lobe, the orbito-frontal, and dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. The religion circuit is regulated by serotonin and dopamin. Long-term religious exercises, such as meditation, activate the frontal lobes which give human beings greater control over the functions of the “self”. The word “self” has been referred to as the nafs in Quran which consists of ‘that which incites to evil’ (alnafs al-ammara), ‘the nafs that blames’ (al-nafs al-lawwama), and ‘the serene self’ (al-nafs al-mutma’inna). Conclusion: Survival of ethical behaviors belonging to the inhibitory behavior depends on the formation of brain connections which can only be obtained through consistent long-term religious exercises.

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Background: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of training, and noise stress on serotonin plasma level of Wistar rats.

Materials and Methods: For many years, physical activity have been used for the treatment of different neuropsychological dieases. Twenty one male witar rats (9-10 weeks old and 170.82±20.57g weight) were randomly divided into three groups: the noise group (n=7), training+noise group (n=7), and the control group (n=7). The aerobic training was performed 5 days per week, for a 60-day period. The noise stress included exposure to traffic noise 5 hrs/per day over a 60-day period (range:85-110 dB).The control group was not exposed to any noise or exercise, and was kept away from the sources of stress the rats were kept under the same conditions. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected and plasma serotonin concentrations were determined.For the statistical data analysis, one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc tests were used (&alpha&le0.05).

Results: Plasma serotonin concentration significantly decreased in noise groups, in comparison with the controls (21.9±2.1, vs.40.8±7.3 &mumol/m, respectively p<0.000). The plasma serotonin levels in the noise +training groups (36.2±3.1) were apparently near to the controls However, resistance training could significantly increase plasma serotonin concentration in the noise+training group rats.

Conclusion: Increased serotonin level following resistance exercises might reduced stress in subjects.

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