Hyperreligiosity
Medical condition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hyperreligiosity (also known as extreme religiosity) is a psychiatric disturbance in which a person experiences intense religious beliefs or episodes that interfere with normal functioning. Hyperreligiosity generally includes abnormal beliefs and a focus on religious content or even atheistic content,[1] which interferes with work and social functioning. Hyperreligiosity may occur in a variety of disorders including epilepsy,[2][3] psychotic disorders and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.[4] Hyperreligiosity is a symptom of Geschwind syndrome, which is associated with temporal lobe epilepsy.[5]
| Hyperreligiosity | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Psychiatry, Neurology |
Signs and symptoms
Hyperreligiosity is characterized by an increased tendency to report supernatural or mystical experiences, spiritual delusions, rigid legalistic thoughts,[citation needed] and extravagant expression of piety.[6][7] Hyperreligiosity may also include religious hallucinations. Hyperreligiosity can also be expressed as intense atheistic beliefs.[1]
Pathophysiology and cause
Hyperreligiosity may be associated with epilepsy (in particular, temporal lobe epilepsy involving complex partial seizures), bipolar disorder,[8] frontotemporal lobar degeneration, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis,[9] substance-induced psychosis,[10] and psychotic disorders more broadly. In those with seizure disorders, episodic hyperreligosity may occur during seizures[11] or postictally but is usually a stable personality feature occurring interictally.[3] In a small study, hyperreligiosity was associated with decreased right hippocampal volume relative to normo-religiosity.[6] Increased activity in the left temporal regions has been associated with hyperreligiosity in psychotic disorders.[12] Pharmacological evidence points towards dysfunction in the ventral dopaminergic pathway as explanatory of hyperreligiosity.[13]
Treatment
Epilepsy related cases may respond to antiepileptics.[14]
See also
References
External links
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