Being 'Born-Again' Linked to Brain Atrophy

AlohaChris · #1 by **AlohaChris** » Dec 30, 2011 1:07 pm

Being 'Born-Again' Linked to More Brain Atrophy

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.

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chairman bill · #2 by **chairman bill** » Dec 30, 2011 1:28 pm

... those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants ...

Shit. I'd better sign-up to the CofE then.

DodgyScouser · #3 by **DodgyScouser** » Dec 30, 2011 2:07 pm

chairman bill wrote:
... those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants ...

Shit. I'd better sign-up to the CofE then.

So all those years I was going to church I was actually smarter than the atheists. Who'da thunk?

chairman bill · #4 by **chairman bill** » Dec 30, 2011 5:18 pm

DodgyScouser wrote:So all those years I was going to church I was actually smarter than the atheists. Who'da thunk?

Yeah, but you're an atheist now, so it's mindless baby-eating time for you from now on.

Wiðercora · #5 by **Wiðercora** » Dec 31, 2011 12:42 pm

Their hippocampuses are larger so they can navigate their way around that maze of logical fallacies and mental gymnastics.

B'dum-chsh.

LarianLeQuella · #6 by **LarianLeQuella** » Jan 03, 2012 9:04 pm

chairman bill wrote:
... those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants ...

I was confused by that bit as well. I think we are in an area of correlation does not imply causation (as much as the sensationalist headline would lead me to want to do so).

Dawn · #7 by **Dawn** » Jan 03, 2012 9:13 pm

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.

Great. I am often at odds with society as a whole.