*"According to the study, people who said they were a "born-again" Protestant or Catholic, or conversely, those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants, but not born-again........One interpretation of our finding -- that members of majority religious groups seem to have less atrophy compared with minority religious groups -- is that when you feel your beliefs and values are somewhat at odds with those of society as a whole, it may contribute to long-term stress that could have implications for the brain," Amy Owen, lead author of the study and a research associate at Duke University Medical Center, said in a Duke news release."*
=================== Geesh PlainOl, this sounds as if they are describing folks like you! <Grin>! On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 9:14 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]>wrote: > Being 'Born-Again' Linked to More Brain Atrophy > > File Under: Aging / Misc. | Brain | Memory Problems | MRI Scans | > Religion | Stress > > WEDNESDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults who say they've had > a life-changing religious experience are more likely to have a greater > decrease in size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain critical to > learning and memory, new research finds. > > According to the study, people who said they were a "born-again" > Protestant or Catholic, or conversely, those who had no religious > affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to > people who identified themselves as Protestants, but not born-again. > > The study is published online in PLoS ONE. > > As people age, a certain amount of brain atrophy is expected. > Shrinkage of the hippocampus is also associated with depression, > dementia and Alzheimer's disease. > > In the study, researchers asked 268 people aged 58 to 84 about their > religious affiliation, spiritual practices and life-changing religious > experiences. Over the course of two to eight years, changes to the > hippocampus were monitored using MRI scans. > > The researchers suggested that stress over holding religious beliefs > that fall outside of the mainstream may help explain the findings. > > "One interpretation of our finding -- that members of majority > religious groups seem to have less atrophy compared with minority > religious groups -- is that when you feel your beliefs and values are > somewhat at odds with those of society as a whole, it may contribute > to long-term stress that could have implications for the brain," Amy > Owen, lead author of the study and a research associate at Duke > University Medical Center, said in a Duke news release. > > The study authors also suggested that life-changing religious > experiences could challenge a person's established religious beliefs, > triggering stress. > > "Other studies have led us to think that whether a new experience you > consider spiritual is interpreted as comforting or stressful may > depend on whether or not it fits in with your existing religious > beliefs and those of the people around you," David Hayward, research > associate at Duke University Medical Center, added. "Especially for > older adults, these unexpected new experiences may lead to doubts > about long-held religious beliefs, or to disagreements with friends > and family." > > The researchers noted other factors related to hippocampal atrophy, > such as age, depression or brain size, as well as other religious > factors such as prayer or meditation, could not explain the study's > findings. > > Read more: > http://www.philly.com/philly/health/132456883.html?loc=interstitialskip#ixzz1yGgKBpYx > Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
