"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."
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 <plainolamerican@gmail.com> 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
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