Nancy A Wintering
Biographic Data
| ID | 2177096 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nancy A Wintering |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nancy A |
| FAMILY NAME | Wintering |
| SIGNATURE | WINTERING N A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Thomas Jefferson University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6226-3960 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 16 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reveals Differences in Large-Scale Network Interactions Between Eminent and Non-Eminent Thinkers
Prior work suggests that differences in brain morphology and task-evoked neural activity may underlie extraordinary creative achievement. Here, we extend these findings by focusing on resting blood oxygen level–dependent (rsBOLD) functional connectivity differences between eminent creators from diverse fields of expertise and a “smart” comparison group of age- and education-matched non-eminent thinkers. Participants underwent rsBOLD imaging, alon…
Effect of a One-Week Spiritual Retreat on Brain Functional Connectivity
Background: Many individuals participate in spiritual retreats to enhance their sense of spirituality or to improve their overall mental and spiritual well-being. We are not aware of any studies specifically evaluating changes in functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in individuals undergoing an intense spiritual retreat program. The goal of this study was to determine whether such changes occur as a result of…
Comparison of Different Measures of Religiousness and Spirituality
The neuroscientific study of religious and spiritual phenomena requires the development of methodologies that can target both the biological as well as the subjective dimensions of such phenomena. The purpose of the current study was to compare various subjective questionnaires evaluating neuropsychological dimensions of religiosity. Many scales and questionnaires have been developed over the years, but they have rarely been compared to each othe…
Effect of a one-week spiritual retreat on dopamine and serotonin transporter binding
Spiritual retreats are a commonly used intensive program of meditation and prayer, along with other elements, designed to provide participants with opportunities for spiritual and psychological growth. While individual elements of such retreats have been studied, there have been no reports in the literature regarding the neurophysiological effects of these retreats. This preliminary study presents the first data we are aware of on the neurophysio…
The language of ineffability
Mystical experiences are often described as “ineffable,” or beyond language. However, people readily speak about their mystical experiences if asked about them. How do people describe what is supposedly indescribable? In this study, we used quantitative linguistic analyses to interpret the writings of 777 participants (45.5% female, 51.0% male) who recounted their most significant spiritual or religious experience as part of an online survey. Hig…
Of Roots and Fruits
Experiences of profound existential or spiritual significance can be triggered reliably through psychopharmacological means using psychedelic substances. However, little is known about the benefits of religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences (RSMEs) prompted by psychedelic substances, as compared with those that occur through other means. In this study, 739 self-selected participants reported the psychological impact of their RSMEs and indic…
Development and Evaluation of the Belief Acceptance Scale
The Belief Acceptance Scale (BAS) is a nine question scale that was developed to evaluate how open and accepting an individual is to other people’s beliefs across interdependent life domains. The purposes of this article are to demonstrate the internal consistency of the BAS and examine the instrument’s substructure and to correlate the BAS with validated measures of religiosity and demographic data gathered from a web-based Survey of Spiritual E…
Cerebral blood flow differences between long-term meditators and non-meditators
Of Roots and Fruits
Experiences of profound existential or spiritual significance can be triggered reliably through psychopharmacological means using psychedelic substances. However, little is known about the benefits of religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences (RSMEs) prompted by psychedelic substances, as compared with those that occur through other means. In this study, 739 self-selected participants reported the psychological impact of their RSMEs and indic…
Effect of a One-Week Spiritual Retreat on Brain Functional Connectivity
Background: Many individuals participate in spiritual retreats to enhance their sense of spirituality or to improve their overall mental and spiritual well-being. We are not aware of any studies specifically evaluating changes in functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in individuals undergoing an intense spiritual retreat program. The goal of this study was to determine whether such changes occur as a result of…
Cerebral blood flow differences between long-term meditators and non-meditators
Development and Evaluation of the Belief Acceptance Scale
The Belief Acceptance Scale (BAS) is a nine question scale that was developed to evaluate how open and accepting an individual is to other people’s beliefs across interdependent life domains. The purposes of this article are to demonstrate the internal consistency of the BAS and examine the instrument’s substructure and to correlate the BAS with validated measures of religiosity and demographic data gathered from a web-based Survey of Spiritual E…
The language of ineffability
Mystical experiences are often described as “ineffable,” or beyond language. However, people readily speak about their mystical experiences if asked about them. How do people describe what is supposedly indescribable? In this study, we used quantitative linguistic analyses to interpret the writings of 777 participants (45.5% female, 51.0% male) who recounted their most significant spiritual or religious experience as part of an online survey. Hig…
Of Roots and Fruits
Experiences of profound existential or spiritual significance can be triggered reliably through psychopharmacological means using psychedelic substances. However, little is known about the benefits of religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences (RSMEs) prompted by psychedelic substances, as compared with those that occur through other means. In this study, 739 self-selected participants reported the psychological impact of their RSMEs and indic…
Effect of a one-week spiritual retreat on dopamine and serotonin transporter binding
Spiritual retreats are a commonly used intensive program of meditation and prayer, along with other elements, designed to provide participants with opportunities for spiritual and psychological growth. While individual elements of such retreats have been studied, there have been no reports in the literature regarding the neurophysiological effects of these retreats. This preliminary study presents the first data we are aware of on the neurophysio…
Comparison of Different Measures of Religiousness and Spirituality
The neuroscientific study of religious and spiritual phenomena requires the development of methodologies that can target both the biological as well as the subjective dimensions of such phenomena. The purpose of the current study was to compare various subjective questionnaires evaluating neuropsychological dimensions of religiosity. Many scales and questionnaires have been developed over the years, but they have rarely been compared to each othe…
Effect of a One-Week Spiritual Retreat on Brain Functional Connectivity
Background: Many individuals participate in spiritual retreats to enhance their sense of spirituality or to improve their overall mental and spiritual well-being. We are not aware of any studies specifically evaluating changes in functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in individuals undergoing an intense spiritual retreat program. The goal of this study was to determine whether such changes occur as a result of…
Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reveals Differences in Large-Scale Network Interactions Between Eminent and Non-Eminent Thinkers
Prior work suggests that differences in brain morphology and task-evoked neural activity may underlie extraordinary creative achievement. Here, we extend these findings by focusing on resting blood oxygen level–dependent (rsBOLD) functional connectivity differences between eminent creators from diverse fields of expertise and a “smart” comparison group of age- and education-matched non-eminent thinkers. Participants underwent rsBOLD imaging, alon…
Psychology (8 works) · Medicine (4 works) · Neuroscience (4 works) · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology (4 works) · Clinical Psychology (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · Social Psychology (3 works) · Sociology (3 works) · Spirituality (3 works) · Central nervous system (2 works)