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SUMMARY:The Neurophenomenology of Surrender: Agency\, Renewal\, and Social
  Engagement in Speaking in Tongues - Dr Joshua Brahinsky – Psychological
  Anthropologist (UC Berkeley / UC Santa Cruz)
DTSTART:20260428T153000Z
DTEND:20260428T170000Z
UID:TALK245755@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Tristan Bekinschtein
DESCRIPTION:What happens in the brain when people choose to let go? While 
 neuroscientists have studied how meditation sharpens attention and cultiva
 tes compassion\, the voluntary surrender of agency remains largely unexplo
 red. Speaking in tongues\, practiced by an estimated 500 million people wo
 rldwide\, provides a rare empirical window into this phenomenon: practitio
 ners deliberately relinquish linguistic control and often report experienc
 es of renewal and increased social engagement.\n\nDrawing on anthropology\
 , phenomenology\, and neuroimaging\, Joshua Brahinsky presents findings fr
 om ethnographic work alongside fMRI and EEG studies conducted in both labo
 ratory and church settings. The results suggest a distinct neural signatur
 e associated with the release of agency\, including reduced activity in re
 gions involved in action planning and top-down control alongside increased
  global connectivity. Interestingly\, greater surrender was associated wit
 h higher creativity scores and richer brain activity\, and experienced pra
 ctitioners reported feeling more empowered and socially connected.\n\nThes
 e findings raise a broader question for both anthropology and neuroscience
 : how do culturally embedded practices produce paradoxical states in which
  letting go becomes a way of gaining agency?
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Dept. of Psychology\, Downing Site
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