Hum Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 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. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 268 people? Call back when there is a broader based study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 aged 58 to 84 ... Maybe health problems lead people to get 'religious' -- coinciding with brain shrikage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Veteran Posted March 23, 2012 Veteran Share Posted March 23, 2012 Looks like the age range chose, they could've just as well asked them if they used denture-cream and got the same results. aged 58 to 84 ... As people age, a certain amount of brain atrophy is expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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