depression tagged posts

Higher activity in the ventral striatum, the brain’s reward center, may buffer some individuals against the negative mental health effects of poor sleep. Credit: Annchen R. Knodt, Duke University

Brain’s reward center activity may protect against negative mental health effects. Poor sleep is both a risk factor, and a common symptom, of depression. But not everyone who tosses and turns at night becomes depressed. Individuals whose brains are more attuned to rewards may be protected from the negative mental health effects of poor sleep, says a new study by Duke University neuroscientists.

The researchers found that college students with poor quality sleep were less likely to have symptoms of depression if they also had higher activity in a reward-sensitive region of the brain...

Reduced Slc6a15 in Nucleus Accumbens D2-Neurons Underlies Stress Susceptibility. The Journal of Neuroscience, 2017; 37 (27): 6527 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3250-16.2017

A gene can either amplify or reduce stress, depending on its level of activity. Globally, depression affects more than 300 million people annually. Nearly 800,000 die from suicide every year – it is the second-leading cause of death among people between 15 to 29 years old. Beyond that, depression destroys quality for life for tens of millions of patients and their families. Although environmental factors play a role in many cases of depression, genetics are also crucially important.

A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) has pinpointed how one particular gene plays a central role –...

The Neuropsychiatric Disease-Associated Gene cacna1c Mediates Survival of Young Hippocampal Neurons

A new study shows the death of newborn brain cells may be linked to a genetic risk factor for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, ADHD, and depression, and at the same time shows a compound currently being developed for use in humans may have therapeutic value for these diseases by preventing the cells from dying.

In 2013, the largest genetic study of psychiatric illness to date implicated mutations in the gene called CACNA1C as a risk factor in 5 major forms of neuropsychiatric disease. All the conditions also share the common clinical feature of high anxiety...

Two neurons of the basolateral amygdala. MIT neuroscientists have found that these neurons play a key role in separating information about positive and negative experiences. Credit: Anna Beyeler and Praneeth Namburi

A new study reveals how 2 populations of neurons contribute to the brain’s inability to correctly assign emotional associations to events, eg those who are depressed often do not feel happy even when experiencing something that they normally enjoy. Learning how this information is routed and misrouted could shed light on mental illnesses including depression, addiction, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

In a previous study, Tye’s lab identified 2 populations of neurons involved in processing positive and negative emotions...