Fans of Apple have 'religious' fervor

LONDON, May 20 (UPI) -- For fans of Apple devices, the brand triggers reactions in the brain that are not unlike those experienced by religious devotees, British researchers say.

A BBC documentary cites neurological research where a magnetic resonance imaging test on an Apple fanatic revealed that images of the company's devices like computers, iPhones, iPads and iPods activated the same parts of the brain as images of a deity do for religious people, CNN reported Friday.

Apple fans have gone to extremes to show their devotion with tattoos, bumper stickers and home shrines to Mac computers.

The documentary showed Apple employees "whipped up into some sort of crazy, evangelical frenzy" at the recent opening of an Apple store in London.

The Cult of Mac blog wrote about an Oakland, Calif., man who traveled across the country to Apple's first retail store in Virginia this week just to celebrate the retail chain's 10th anniversary.

Industry observers and critics of Apple have long accused Apple fans of being over the top in their infatuation with the company and its products, CNN said.