"Are there differences in the brain activation of people involved in spiritual exercises or mindfulness interventions?". This is one of the questions that the seminar “Brain and Spirituality: Perspectives and Challenges”, which took place on October 7 at the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), in Braga, sought to answer.

Researchers and teachers from the most diverse fields, from Medicine to Psychology, including Neurosciences and Philosophy, met to discuss paths and perspectives, thus continuing a research project that is being developed with funding from the BIAL Foundation. This project involves five researchers from CEFH, teachers from the University of Minho and the Portuguese Catholic University of Lisbon.

The more specific objective of this project, in the words of its coordinator, Paulo Dias, Professor in the field of Psychology, "consists of analysing whether there are similarities or differences in brain activity in these two practices: mindfulness and spiritual exercises".

The results will be submitted to international peer reviewed journals and can be followed in a colloquium that will take place in 2024, at UCP facilities.