Kenneth Blum\^1-4,8\\*, Lori Germain\^3\, Alireza Sharafshah\^3,4\, Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski\^3,4\, Morgan P Lorio\^5\, Kyriaki K Thanos\^6\, Edward J Modestino\^7\, John Giordano\^3\, Keerthy Sunder\^3,8\, Albert Pinhasov\^1\, Rossano Kepler Alvim Fiorelli\^4\, Sergio Schmidt\^4\, Álvaro Dowling\^3\, Rafaela Dowling\^3\, Igor Elman\^9\, Alexander PL Lewandrowski\^10\, Mark S Gold\^11\ and Rafael Rea\^3,12\

¹Department of Molecular Biology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
²Division of Addiction Research and Education, Center for Sports, Exercise, and Mental Health, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, USA
³Division of Clinical Neurology, The Origen Institute of Neurobiology and Genetics, Austin, TX., USA
⁴Department of Neurology, Hospital Universitário Gaffree Guinle Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
⁵Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine, Winter Garden, FL, USA
⁶Department of Psychology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY., USA
⁷Brain and Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Curry College, Milton, MA, USA
⁸Division of Addiction Research and Education, Center for Sports, Exercise, and Mental Health, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, USA
⁹Department of Psychiatry and Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, USA
¹⁰Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
¹¹Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
¹²School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

*Corresponding Author: Kenneth Blum, Department of Molecular Biology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.

Received: September 25, 2026; Published: October 26, 2026

Abstract

This editorial considers spirituality from a neurobiological perspective and examines a provocative question: could, or should, emerging genetic technologies ever be used to influence spiritual or religious experience (gene-spirituality) in ways that might help people cope with major social and personal stressors? We review proposed links among spirituality, reward-related genes, hypodopaminergic states described within Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), the mirror-neuron system, and the default mode network (DMN). We also discuss addiction-medicine approaches that may support the neuro-spirituality connectome, a construct associated with Purpose and Meaning of Life as Reward (PMLR), as potential avenues for improving reward regulation and modulating DMN activity. Finally, we consider whether future combinations of gene-editing technologies and artificial intelligence could give rise to forms of “artificial geneospirituality” in recovery settings, and whether such an approach would be ethically acceptable or instead pose unacceptable risks to autonomy and human dignity.

Keywords: Purpose and Meaning of Life as Reward (PMLR)

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Citation

Citation: Kenneth Blum., et al. “The Inebriate’s New Life: Finding a Spiritualized Mind Linked to Geneospirituality". Acta Scientific Neurology 9.10 (2026): 29-39.

Copyright

Copyright: ©2026 Kenneth Blum., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.