Probing the neural basis of superstition.

Résumé

Despite much evidence questioning its validity, superstitious belief continues to be rooted in the human mind. We used functional MRI to directly compare participants' neural responses to monetary attractiveness with their responses to the value of an auspicious date. We found that the right middle/superior frontal gyrus showed greater deactivation whenever an auspicious-based choice was made and that the contrast between the auspicious-based and economics-based choices was negatively correlated with the participants' rated wedding date-related superstitious belief, suggesting that a specific brain region carries decision signals which contribute to making decisions based on superstition and may be able to account for individual differences in superstitious behavior. The present investigation helps to reveal how the brain handles superstition.