Can there be a predisposition for fundamentalism? Do the faithful cope more easily with pain? Are they faster to recover from illness?

Such are the questions scientists and theologians will attempt to answer at a new study centre that starts experiments into human consciousness in the next few months.

The Oxford Centre for Science of the Mind (OXSCOM) could be the first of its kind in the world, its founders believe.

“These are all valid questions,” said Susan Greenfield, British neuroscientist and founding director of OXSCOM.

“Saying you’re interested in the brain but not in consciousness is now like saying you’re interested in the stomach but not in digestion,” she told reporters.

For years scientists have viewed the study of consciousness as a trivial sideline, not worthy of serious study, she added.

But increasing acceptance that positive outlooks can encourage well-being have given new credence to the study of the mind, Greenfield said.

OXSCOM has received a $2 million grant for a two-year pilot run from the American-based philanthropic John Templeton Foundation to carry out a range of experiments, some of which will use pain techniques to see if the faithful cope better with pain than non-believers.

Scientists will use chili pepper to burn volunteers’ skin, said OXSCOM deputy director Toby Collins.

Then, religious icons or other symbolic artefacts will be shown to them to see if they make a difference in pain perception.

“What we’ll be doing is exploring consciousness and particularly how consciousness is shaped and substantiated in the brain, how a belief can trigger or change your consciousness, and how one can affect the other,” Greenfield said.

The centre will bring together experts from disciplines as varied as physiology, neuroscience, religion and philosophy.

RESILIENCE OF FAITH

Greenfield said its time has come because of people’s propensity to go against all logic, based on certain beliefs and faiths.

She highlighted the rise of fundamentalist beliefs as a concern.

“We are very mindful as to the state of the world as to the strength of beliefs and what that can do for world peace and well-being,” she said.

“What is it in the brain that, in the presence of evidence, refutes that evidence?”

Beliefs can be remarkably resilient, even against logic, added Oxford theologian, professor John Brooke, and this merits study.

He used the example of the Asian tsunami disaster to suggest that even a huge tragedy can often fail to force the faithful to flounder in their beliefs. Why is that?

In addressing that question, the centre will have to face up to one of its hardest tasks - bridging the two worlds of science and humanities to find ways of actually quantifying levels of belief in the test volunteers.

SCIENCE IS READY

Scientific knowledge of the brain has advanced enough to offer new approaches to studies of the mind, Greenfield said.

Much progress has already been made by fellow OXSCOM member professor John Stein, from Oxford’s physiology department.

“The reason I think we can provide something useful to this project is because we study pain, mainly focusing on neuropathic pain - that is pain that is happening when there’s no general cause for it,” Stein said.

The elimination of phantom limb pain in amputees suggests beliefs can be changed through science.

Although scientists won’t be looking to isolate a propensity for religious fundamentalism, Greenfield said they would be looking for what happens in the brain when people have strong beliefs.

“What we’ll be looking for is the brain organisation - not the genetics,” she said.

But the team stressed the project is not about finding ways to manipulate people’s beliefs, rather to understand how they come about.

The founder members hope the collective insights gained from the centre’s studies can inspire innovative approaches for promoting well-being and maximizing individual human potential.