{"id":595414,"date":"2026-05-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/?post_type=ftm_video&p=595414"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:52:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:52:03","slug":"what-brain-scans-reveal-about-spirituality","status":"publish","type":"ftm_video","link":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/perception-box\/what-brain-scans-reveal-about-spirituality\/","title":{"rendered":"What brain scans reveal about spiritual people and depression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is hope, and where does it come from? Lisa Miller, PhD, Sam Newlands, PhD, and William Magee, PhD bring together neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology to explore how hope operates between certainty and impossibility, how spiritual life protects the brain against depression and despair, and how small acts of generosity can reawaken our capacity for meaning. Hope, they argue, is something we can choose to cultivate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


We created this video for <\/em>Brain Briefs<\/em><\/a>, a Big Think interview series created in partnership with <\/em>Unlikely Collaborators<\/em><\/a>. As a creative non-profit organization, they\u2019re on a mission to help people challenge their perceptions and expand their thinking. Often, that growth can start with just a single unlikely question that makes you rethink your convictions and adjust your vantage point. Visit <\/em>Perception Box<\/em><\/a> to see more in this series.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Optimistic people don\u2019t just \u201cfeel happier,\u201d they literally process information differently, at a perceptual level. Three experts explain. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":595415,"template":"","tags":[],"ftm_taxonomy_concepts":[],"ftm_taxonomy_questions":[],"ftm_taxonomy_statuses":[],"ftm_taxonomy_topics":[10869],"ftm_taxonomy_sections":[10750],"ftm_taxonomy_hidden_tags":[],"ftm_taxonomy_new_topics":[11279,11158,11199,11305,11263],"ftm_membership_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-595414","ftm_video","type-ftm_video","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ftm_taxonomy_topics-brain-briefs","ftm_taxonomy_sections-perception-box","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-mental-health","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-mind-behavior","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-neuroscience","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-philosophy","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-psychology","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat brain scans reveal about spiritual people and depression - Big Think<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Optimistic people don\u2019t just \u201cfeel happier,\u201d they literally process information differently, at a perceptual level. 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