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Category: Depression
How Depression Changes Brain Structure According To 3000+ Scans
White matter disruption has been linked to both emotional problems and difficulties with thinking skills.
White matter disruption has been linked to both emotional problems and difficulties with thinking skills.
Depression changes the structure of the brain, according to the results of over 3,000 brain scans.
Changes were seen in the white matter of the brain.
The white matter is the brain’s ‘wiring’, connecting the different areas together.
It contains tracts of fibre down which electrical signals can pass.
White matter disruption has been linked to both emotional problems and difficulties with thinking skills.
The results come from brain scans of 3,461 people.
The study found that people who reported symptoms of depression had reduced white matter integrity.
Dr Heather Whalley, who led the research, said:
“This study uses data from the largest single sample published to date and shows that people with depression have changes in the white matter wiring of their brain.
There is an urgent need to provide treatment for depression and an improved understanding of it mechanisms will give us a better chance of developing new and more effective methods of treatment.
Our next steps will be to look at how the absence of changes in the brain relates to better protection from distress and low mood.”
Scientists used a cutting-edge technique called diffusion tensor imaging.
This technique — which measures the movement of water molecules — is particularly suitable for mapping the fibres in the brain.
Related
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Shen et al., 2017).
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This Parent ‘Passes On’ Depression To Daughters
One family relationship can be particularly damaging for daughters.
One family relationship can be particularly damaging for daughters.
Fathers who experience postnatal depression can ‘pass on’ depression to their daughters.
Approximately one in twenty fathers experience postnatal depression.
There was no link found between fathers’ postnatal depression and their sons’ depression.
It is not clear why daughters are affected, but fathers’ postnatal depression may affect family functioning, leading to conflict and maternal depression.
It could also be due to a unique link between fathers and daughters during adolescence.
The conclusions come from a study of 3,176 families in the UK.
Professor Paul Ramchandani, study co-author, said:
“…we were able to follow up the young people from birth through to the age of 18, when they were interviewed about their own experience of depression.
Those young people whose fathers had been depressed back when they were born had an increased risk of depression at age 18 years.
We were also able to look at some of the ways in which depression in fathers might have affected children.
It appears that depression in fathers is linked with an increased level of stress in the whole family, and that this might be one way in which offspring may be affected.
Whilst many children will not be affected by parental depression in this way, the findings of this study highlight the importance of providing appropriate help to fathers, as well as mothers, who may experience depression.”
Mr Mark Williams, a paternal depression campaigner, said:
“In my experience of working with families, it’s sometimes only the father who is suffering in silence but sadly very few are asked about their mental health after becoming a parent.”
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The study was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry (Gutierrez-Galve et al., 2018).
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2 Personality Traits Linked To Negative Thoughts
The best strategy for getting rid of negative thoughts.
The best strategy for getting rid of negative thoughts.
People high in neuroticism are more likely to experience negative thoughts. In addition, being introverted is linked to spontaneously remembering more negative life events. Together, both personality traits — neuroticism and introversion — are linked to depression and anxiety. On the other hand, people with stable emotions who are more extraverted are at lower risk of depression and anxiety. Neuroticism and introversion are two of the ‘Big Five’ personality traits, which also include agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience. The study included 71 people who were given personality tests and asked to recall some personal memories. Dr Florin Dolcos, study co-author, explained:“We’re looking at traits that are associated with the way that people process the emotional world and the way that they respond to it. We wanted to look not only at how personality traits might influence what and how people remember, but also to examine how that impacts their (subsequent) emotional state.”The results showed that both men and women who were more introverted tended to recall more negative memories. Neurotic women had a tendency to repeatedly return to the same memories, the study revealed. Psychologists call this rumination. Dr Dolcos explained:
“Depressed people recollect those negative memories and as a result they feel sad. And as a result of feeling sad, the tendency is to have more negative memories recollected. It’s a kind of a vicious circle.”Neurotic men, though, recalled a higher proportion of negative memories.
Getting rid of negative thoughts
To get rid of negative thoughts, people use a variety of strategies. For women, trying to suppress negative thoughts did not work, as they returned stronger than before. (See: the problem with thought suppression.) Men who made an effort to think differently about their memories — what psychologists call ‘reappraisal’ — recalled more positive memories. Suppression was not linked to any differences for men. One of the best ways of getting rid of negative thoughts is using flexible emotional control strategies.Related
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