August 25, 2012 at 08:28Be optimistic - depression leads to Alzheimer's
Scientists still can’t say exactly what processes at the cellular level lead to depression, but they say with confidence: the brain of a depressed person, even in a calm state, is prone to overload. This is due, first of all, to the fact that the signals between the subcortical and limbic regions of the brain during depression go a much longer way than in a normal, cheerful state. Their intensity also changes.
The new discovery explains the earlier statements made by many American scientists that frequent depression is the cause of the development of senile dementia, often turning into Alzheimer's syndrome and other unpleasant diseases.
According to data from two independent studies, during depression, the limbic and subcortical regions of the brain begin to exchange chaotic signals passing through the intermediate regions. And this, in turn, leads to deterioration of neural networks. As you know, neurons in the human brain interact with each other through synapses, tiny structures that connect nerve cells and transmit signals. Back in the 20th century, it was proved that stresses had an extremely negative effect on the state of synapses, but the effect of depression on the nervous system began to be studied not so long ago.
Two independent researchers - Andrew Lutcher from the University of California and Shukiao Yao from Central Southern University of China (Hunan Province) - confirmed significant differencesin the work of the brain of depressed people, compared to healthy ones.
Andrew Lutcher and colleagues found that the subcortical and limbic regions of the brain, which are usually involved in processing our emotions, begin to communicate intensively with each other through neural signal flows during depression. Researchers note that these signals act on the brain like white noise, and only increase depression, not allowing a person to think about how to stop feeling sad and start moving on.
Chinese scientist Shukiao Yao in his study emphasizes that with depression, the most difficult situations arise when the patient is prone to lengthy reflection. This creates an act in his brain of continuous reproduction of negative thoughts, which, in addition to overloading neural networks, disrupt the hippocampus's activity associated with the storage of long-term memory. And this, in turn, can already lead to more serious neurological disorders, as well as to complete or partial loss of memory.
The practical importance of research
Long-term depression can cause serious neurological and mental disorders, so either do not get depressed at all, or look for a way out and an interesting activity during the onset of its first signs. This will help protect neural networks and avoid memory problems in old age.
The new discovery explains the earlier statements made by many American scientists that frequent depression is the cause of the development of senile dementia, often turning into Alzheimer's syndrome and other unpleasant diseases.
According to data from two independent studies, during depression, the limbic and subcortical regions of the brain begin to exchange chaotic signals passing through the intermediate regions. And this, in turn, leads to deterioration of neural networks. As you know, neurons in the human brain interact with each other through synapses, tiny structures that connect nerve cells and transmit signals. Back in the 20th century, it was proved that stresses had an extremely negative effect on the state of synapses, but the effect of depression on the nervous system began to be studied not so long ago.
Two independent researchers - Andrew Lutcher from the University of California and Shukiao Yao from Central Southern University of China (Hunan Province) - confirmed significant differencesin the work of the brain of depressed people, compared to healthy ones.
Andrew Lutcher and colleagues found that the subcortical and limbic regions of the brain, which are usually involved in processing our emotions, begin to communicate intensively with each other through neural signal flows during depression. Researchers note that these signals act on the brain like white noise, and only increase depression, not allowing a person to think about how to stop feeling sad and start moving on.
Chinese scientist Shukiao Yao in his study emphasizes that with depression, the most difficult situations arise when the patient is prone to lengthy reflection. This creates an act in his brain of continuous reproduction of negative thoughts, which, in addition to overloading neural networks, disrupt the hippocampus's activity associated with the storage of long-term memory. And this, in turn, can already lead to more serious neurological disorders, as well as to complete or partial loss of memory.
The practical importance of research
Long-term depression can cause serious neurological and mental disorders, so either do not get depressed at all, or look for a way out and an interesting activity during the onset of its first signs. This will help protect neural networks and avoid memory problems in old age.