Monthly Archives: February 2012
Abnormal brain networks may explain depression symptoms
WashingtonL: UCLA researchers have shed new light on the brain dysfunction that causes depression and its wide array of symptoms.
True clinical depression brings with it a number of other symptoms like anxiety, poor attention and concentration, memory issues, and sleep disturbances.
Researchers have sought to identify the individual brain areas responsible for causing these symptoms.
But the combination of so many symptoms suggested to UCLA researchers that the multiple symptoms of depression may be linked to a malfunction involving brain networks — the connections that link different brain regions.
Now, for the first time, these UCLA researchers have shown that people with depression have increased connections among most brain areas. Indeed, their brains are widely hyperconnected.
“The brain must be able to regulate its connections to function properly,” said the study’s first author, Dr. Andrew Leuchter, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
“The brain must be able to first synchronize, and then later desynchronize, different areas in order to react, regulate mood, learn and solve problems,” he suggested.
The depressed brain, Leuchter said, maintains its ability to form functional connections but loses the ability to turn these connections off.
“This inability to control how brain areas work together may help explain some of the symptoms in depression,” he noted.
In the study, the largest of its kind, the researchers studied the functional connections of the brain in 121 adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder, or MDD. They measured the synchronization of electrical signals from the brain — brain waves — to study networks among the different brain regions.
While some previous studies have hinted at abnormal patterns of connections in MDD, the UCLA team used a new method called “weighted network analysis” to examine overall brain connections.
They found that the depressed subjects showed increased synchronization across all frequencies of electrical activity, indicating dysfunction in many different brain networks.
Brain rhythms in some of these networks regulate the release of serotonin and other brain chemicals that help control mood, said Leuchter.
“The area of the brain that showed the greatest degree of abnormal connections was the prefrontal cortex, which is heavily involved in regulating mood and solving problems,” he said.
“When brain systems lose their flexibility in controlling connections, they may not be able to adapt to change.
“So an important question is, to what extent do abnormal rhythms drive the abnormal brain chemistry that we see in depression? We have known for some time that antidepressant medications alter the electrical rhythms of the brain at the same time that levels of brain chemicals like serotonin are changing. It is possible that a primary effect of antidepressant treatment is to ‘repair’ the brain’s electrical connections and that normalizing brain connectivity is a key step in recovery from depression. That will be the next step in our research,” Leuchter concluded.
The finding has been published this week in the online journal PLoS One.
Can Meditation Reduce Work-Related Stress?
We live in difficult times. Employees work harder than ever and have fewer opportunities. That’s what the market research firm, Harris Interactive, found after questioning over 1,500 American workers.
Harris published these findings in a survey that the firm conducted for the American Psychological Association.
According to the survey, thirty-six percent of American workers are stressed out.
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The Benefits of Hobbies
Some people think of hobbies as a waste of time that provide little benefit to life; however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Whenever I have a friend who is depressed or is just going through a tough time, I always ask what they do for fun. Most of the time they reply
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Own a Pet? You May Have a Healthier Heart!
It’s well known that owning a pet has many health benefits. However, a new study reported in the American Journal of Cardiology shows that pet owners with chronic ailments may even have healthier, more adaptable hearts. The study followed people with conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol and found that they had more changes in heart rate than people without pets during the same period of time, indicating that they were more adaptable and would therefore less likely to be less taxed under certain circumstances; for instance, high-stress situations.
Previous studies suggest several reasons why pet owners may have healthier hearts. If you own a dog, you’re likely engaging in more exercise and physical activity, faring better against commonly more sedentary non-pet owners. Also, according to findings compiled from psychologists at Miami University and St. Louis University and published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, both dog and cat owners have been linked to lower levels of anxiety and stress. Perhaps these are also correlated with the other emotional benefits gained from their furry companions, including fewer tendencies toward loneliness and higher self-esteem.
Regardless of whether or not you are a pet owner, following heart-healthy habits is the best way to help ensure long-term wellness and help prevent heart disease, including maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress, eating well, and regularly checking cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
High-Rite
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Scientists Link OCD to Immune System Problems
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating mental illness. People with OCD feel great anxiety. They’re trapped in a loop of repetitive thoughts known as obsessions.
Many OCD patients seek relief from these obsessions by engaging in compulsive behavior. Such behavior involves performing repetitive tasks such as counting or hand-washing.
But new research provides insight into potential causes of OCD. During the past few years, scientists have learned that this anxiety disorder may be linked to immunological problems.
Several studies have found that patients with OCD have smaller numbers of some immune system cells and signs of autoimmune activity.
Last year, four scientists from Firat University, a Turkish college, published research showing immunological differences between OCD patients and people who had no physical or mental problems.1
By using blood tests, the scientists found that patients with OCD had lower levels of neutrophils, which are white blood cells that help the human immune system fight off invading microorganisms.2
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