no .. it's the religious myth believers like you they are describing. On Jun 20, 1:46 am, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]> wrote: > *"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=interstitialsk... > > Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else > > > -- > > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > > For options & help seehttp://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > > * Visit our other community athttp://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > > * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
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