What does inflammation in the context of depression look like inside the brain? Emory researchers have found that high inflammation is linked to a “failure to communicate” between two parts of the brain: the ventral striatum (VS, vertical cross section) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC, horizontal). Credit: Felger et al, Molecular Psychiatry (2015)
Brain imaging shows distinctive aspects of high-inflammation depression. About 1/3 of people with depression have high levels of inflammation markers in their blood. New research indicates persistent inflammation affects the brain in ways that are connected with stubborn symptoms of depression, such as anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure.
The findings bolster the case that the high-inflammation form of depression is dist...
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