Re: [Swprograms] Fw: [roadgeek] Study: Obscure Hobbies Cause Changes inBrain

["Mike Wolfson" <mwolfson@xxxxxxxxxx>]

What's roadgeeking ??

Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Cuff" <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Shortwave programming discussion" <swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 9:51 AM
Subject: [Swprograms] Fw: [roadgeek] Study: Obscure Hobbies Cause Changes
inBrain


> Found this from one of my other hobby e-groups:  roadgeeking...
>
> Rich Cuff
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Raymond C Martin Jr" <famartin1@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <roadgeek@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 9:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [roadgeek] Study: Obscure Hobbies Cause Changes in Brain
>
>
> Since there's no link...  this wouldn't happen to be an April Fools, now
> would it? ;-)
>
> --- xploreusa <xploreusa@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Very interesting, but ominous, news article. Let's be careful out
> > there!
> >
> >
> >
> > Science - Reuters
> > Thu Apr 01, 1:10 PM ET
> >
> >
> > Study: Obscure Hobbies Cause Changes in Brain
> >
> > Dangerous 'gray matter' alters brain structure in transportation fans
> >
> >
> >
> > LONDON (Reuters) - Individuals who partake in a small number of
> > obscure hobbies are worrying a group of scientists from around the
> > world. Having a fascination with planes, trains, and automobiles may
> > seem like harmless entertainment, but scientists said Thursday that
> > excessive pondering of the minutiae of these hobbies can cause
> > potentially harmful changes in areas of the adult brain.
> >
> > Affecting mostly males from North America, Western Europe, and
> > Australia, the hobbies include planespotting, railfanning, and
> > roadgeeking. A possible link, scientists surmise, may be that all
> > three transportation-related hobbies include viewing and documenting
> > random numbers. The seemingly benign numbers range from airplane
> > fuselage and train engine serial numbers, to highway route and exit
> > numbers.
> >
> > Scientists report that taking part in the hobbies increases the
> > amount of gray matter in areas of the brain that process and store
> > visual information, proving what was not thought possible -- that
> > new stimuli can alter the brain's structure.
> >
> > A comparison of brain-imaging scans between non-participants and
> > long-time hobbyists, revealed a substantial, and alarming, increase
> > in gray matter in certain areas of the brains.
> >
> > "Our results challenge our view of the human central nervous system.
> > Human brains probably must be viewed as dynamic, changing with
> > development and normal learning," said Arne May, of the University
> > of Regensburg in Germany, who headed the research team.
> >
> > Gray matter refers to parts of the brain and spinal cord that are
> > comprised of the tightly packed nuclei of nerve cells. In the brain
> > it is mainly found in the outer layers of the cerebrum which is
> > responsible for advanced mental functions.
> >
> > In a report in the science journal Nature, May and his colleagues
> > said brain scans done six months after the hobbyists abandoned their
> > pastimes, on the advice of neurospecialists, showed the increase in
> > gray matter had been reduced.
> >
> > Outside his doctor's office, American transportation enthusiast
> > Jeffrey Sloan, of Berwyn, Illinois, reminisces about the many days
> > and nights spent observing all manners of transportation.
> >
> > "I live in the mecca of transportation. Everyday I would either
> > watch planes at O'Hare (International Airport), chase after the many
> > freight and passenger trains, or cruise the roadways. My family and
> > friends just didn't get the fascination with it, the obsession, but
> > it was like an elixir for me."
> >
> > Later Sloan is careful to avert his eyes from a passing freight
> > train, as he sits in his vehicle near one of his former prime
> > viewing spots. He has since taken up needlepoint and backgammon, but
> > he still likes to come out here and feel the rumble, hear the horn,
> > and smell the diesel of the trains.
> >
> > "I want to look at the trains and all the numbers, but the doctor
> > says I can't," Sloan says as tears well up in his eyes, "I want to
> > live and be here for my grandkids. I want to be sane, not a
> > vegetable, I don't want that gray matter to muddle up my brain. It's
> > terrible, I can't believe this has happened to me."
> >
> > He turns on a scanner to listen to some airplane traffic in the busy
> > skies, and laments the fact that he can't drive at night any
> > longer. "The doctors warned me that the reflectorized road signs are
> > very dangerous to someone with my condition."
> >
> > Scientists are working at improving their knowledge of this newly
> > discovered disease, but they warn that no cure is on the distant
> > horizon. "I believe the challenge we face is...to be able to adapt
> > and modulate this knowledge into disease management," May added in
> > an email interview.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
> > John M. Sullivan
> > Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, Earth
> >
> >
>
>
> =====
> Raymond C. Martin, Jr.
> Associate Meteorologist, AccuWeather Inc. - http://www.accuweather.com/
> New Jersey Expressways and Tollways - http://www.njfreeways.com/
> Ray's Winter Storm Archive - http://www.njfreeways.com/weather/
>
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