Re: Being 'Born-Again' Linked to More Brain Atrophy

no .. it's the religious myth believers like you they are describing.

On Jun 20, 1:46 am, Keith In Tampa <keithinta...@gmail.com> 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
> <plainolameri...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
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> > 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
>
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