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Religious, spiritual people found to have 'thicker' brains to protect them
from depression
By Catholic Online (NEWS
CONSORTIUM)
January 2nd, 2014
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
A recent study now suggests that believers or those with a spiritual side
have "thicker" sections of brain tissue than other people. Scientists say that
while religion is largely a matter of the heart, it seems the shape of our
brains could also have a role to play.
Researchers think that the thickening could help ward off depression.
"Our beliefs and our moods are reflected in our brain and with new
imaging techniques we can begin to see this," Dr. Myrna Weissman, a professor of
psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University says. "The brain is an
extraordinary organ. It not only controls, but is controlled by our
moods."
It has to be noted that the study doesn't imply that thicker
brain regions cause people to become more religious or spiritual. Dr. Weissman
and her colleagues says that this may hint that being religious can enhance the
brain's resilience against depression in a physical way.
Researchers had previously found that people who said they were religious or spiritual were at
lower risk of depression. People at a higher risk of depression also had
thinning cortices, compared to those with lower depression
risk.
Researchers twice asked 103 adults between the ages of 18 and 54
how important religion or spirituality was to them and how often they attended
religious services over a five year period for the most recent study. The
participants' brains were also imaged once to see how thick their cortices were.
All the participants were the children or grandchildren of people who
participated in an earlier study about depression.
Some of the test subjects had a family history of depression, and so were considered high risk
for similar disorders. Others with no history served as a comparison
group.
Interestingly, the importance of religion or spirituality to an
individual - but not church attendance - was tied to having a thicker cortex.
The link was strongest among those at high risk of depression.
"What
we're doing now is looking at the stability of it," Weissman, who is also chief
of the Clinical-Genetic Epidemiology Department at New York State Psychiatric
Institute, said.
Dr. Dan Blazer, the Professor of Psychiatry at Duke
University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said the study remains in
the exploratory stages.
"I think this tells us it's an area to look at,"
Blazer said. "It's an area of interest but we have to be careful."
Religious, spiritual people found to have 'thicker' brains to protect them
from depression
By Catholic Online (NEWS
CONSORTIUM)
January 2nd, 2014
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
A recent study now suggests that believers or those with a spiritual side
have "thicker" sections of brain tissue than other people. Scientists say that
while religion is largely a matter of the heart, it seems the shape of our
brains could also have a role to play.
Researchers think that the thickening could help ward off depression.
"Our beliefs and our moods are reflected in our brain and with new
imaging techniques we can begin to see this," Dr. Myrna Weissman, a professor of
psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University says. "The brain is an
extraordinary organ. It not only controls, but is controlled by our
moods."
It has to be noted that the study doesn't imply that thicker
brain regions cause people to become more religious or spiritual. Dr. Weissman
and her colleagues says that this may hint that being religious can enhance the
brain's resilience against depression in a physical way.
Researchers had previously found that people who said they were religious or spiritual were at
lower risk of depression. People at a higher risk of depression also had
thinning cortices, compared to those with lower depression
risk.
Researchers twice asked 103 adults between the ages of 18 and 54
how important religion or spirituality was to them and how often they attended
religious services over a five year period for the most recent study. The
participants' brains were also imaged once to see how thick their cortices were.
All the participants were the children or grandchildren of people who
participated in an earlier study about depression.
Some of the test subjects had a family history of depression, and so were considered high risk
for similar disorders. Others with no history served as a comparison
group.
Interestingly, the importance of religion or spirituality to an
individual - but not church attendance - was tied to having a thicker cortex.
The link was strongest among those at high risk of depression.
"What
we're doing now is looking at the stability of it," Weissman, who is also chief
of the Clinical-Genetic Epidemiology Department at New York State Psychiatric
Institute, said.
Dr. Dan Blazer, the Professor of Psychiatry at Duke
University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said the study remains in
the exploratory stages.
"I think this tells us it's an area to look at,"
Blazer said. "It's an area of interest but we have to be careful."