Depression Consequences In The Brain

The cerebral cortex directs functions like speech, behavior, reactions, movement, thinking, and learning. In fact, some research suggests that bipolar disorder originates with problems with the thalamus, which links sensory input to good and bad feelings. The hippocampus also affects depression. It, like the amygdala, is part of the limbic system. It is vital in processing long-term memory. This section of the brain registers recurring fear. In people with clinical depression, the hippocampus is much smaller. Research suggests, even, that ongoing exposure to stress impairs the growth of nerve cells in this part of the brain. One of the most important jobs of the brain is to process senses, through neurons. Neurotransmitters are specific substances that help relay information to the brain. Scientists have identified many neurotransmitters that affect depression. A lack or excess of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, glutamate, lithium carbonate and gamma-aminobutyric acid are thought to contribute to depression. Acetylcholine is involved in learning and enhances memory. Serotonin helps regulate sleep, appetite, and mood, and inhibits pain. Research shows the idea that many depressed people have reduced levels of serotonin. Low levels of a byproduct of serotonin have been linked to a high risk for suicide. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter which constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. An excess in

Depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors (“Depression: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments” 2015). Researchers are becoming increasingly aware that depression runs in families (Kam,2009) meaning that certain genes may make people prone to depression suggesting a biological vulnerability. The biological factors that have some effect on the hereditary and biological influences of depression are the genes, hormones, and brain chemicals.

This essay will discuss the biological and psychological aspects of depressive disorders, the focus is on depressive disorders as opposed to bipolar disorders in the mood disorders category as depressive disorders are more prevalent in society with one fifth of the population exhibiting symptoms (The British Psychological Association, 2013) compared to bipolar disorders which 1%-1.5% of the population are affected by (The British Psychological Association, 2010). In particular this essay will look at the biological model of depression in particular the influence of the neurotransmitter serotonin (Young & Leyton, 2002) in both the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders and also the cognitive model (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) which

The role of serotonin on the mood of depressed patients is not fully understood. Studies show that a shortage of serotonin affects an area of brain that predominates emotions: the amygdala. (2) This almond-shaped brain region connects emotions to our sensory perceptions and appears particularly important in the formation of negative emotions. A lack of serotonin makes the amygdala more susceptible to sensory stimuli. In an experiment where they temporarily lowered serotonin levels in the brain in healthy subjects, they recorded a stronger reaction of the amygdala. (3) Foreign studies confirm this role of amygdala during depression.

Serotonin, (or 5-hydroxytryptamine) is a neurotransmitter released by neurones in the brain. It is a chemical responsible for good mood and well-being. Therefore one of the possible causes of depression is a chemical imbalance of Serotonin levels in the brain and consequently, ineffective neuronal transmission at the synaptic cleft. (Lovatt, 2010) This has negative implications on mood, sleep and appetite.

Psychology, as most know, is the study of the mind and personal or group thoughts, feelings, and emotions in humans and animals. Scientists study, analyze, and investigate many areas of psychology, but the causes and effects of mood disorders and emotion irregularities are still unrecognized. Many studies were an attempt to find more information on mental illnesses. One of the most common illnesses in the United States is depression, also; it is the most often recognized mental illness in the world. What most clinicians don’t know, however, is what happens in the brains of patients before, during, and after depressive episodes.

If you have been diagnosed with depression, you most likely will be told it is due to a deficiency of serotonin. Serotonin is regarded by many people as the basic neurotransmitter, or chemical hormone, that regulates mood. It plays the central role in the regulation of human mood and temperament. Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter which works with the excitatory sympathetic systems, like adrenaline and dopamine, in the central nervous system. Most widely researched are the effects on the central nervous system. An oversupply of serotonin can occur, though it is not as common, and it can cause vivid hallucinations, vascular disorders, and psychotic disorders. If you have a sustained decrease in serotonin, the following will occur: increase in anxiety, loss of interest, and lack of concentration. Having a decrease or imbalance in the body sounds somewhat alarming, but there are ways to cope and restore normal balances regarding serotonin.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that carry messages between neurons and affect behaviour, mood and thought. Two of the neurotransmitters that play a role in depression are norepinephrine and serotonin (Shives 2005). In depression, neurons don’t produce enough neurotransmitters. Shives (2005) states as a result, membrane channels don’t open, nerve messages are not communicated, and areas of the brain affecting emotion may not receive stimulation (Shives 2005). The hormonal system known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, that regulates the body’s response to stress, is overactive in many people with depression. The hypothalamus increases production of corticotrophin releasing factor when a person’s physical or psychological well-being is threatened (Shives 2005). Elevated levels of corticotrophin releasing factor lean to an increase in hormone secretion by the piturity and adrenal glands which prepares the body for defensive action (Shives 2005). The chronic overactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may occur following a traumatic experience this may contribute to the onset of depression (Shives 2005).

The understanding of the nature and causes of depression has evolved over the centuries, though this understanding is incomplete and has left many aspects of depression as the subject of discussion and research. Proposed causes include psychological, psycho-social, hereditary, evolutionary and biological factors. Long-term substance abuse may cause or worsen depressive symptoms. Psychological treatments are based on theories of personality, interpersonal communication, and learning. Most biological theories focus on the monoamine chemicals serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, which are naturally present in the brain and assist communication between nerve cells. This cluster of symptoms was named, described and classified as one of the mood disorders in the 1980 edition of the American Psychiatric Association 's diagnostic manual.

Brain chemistry. Change in the balance of neurotransmitters are likely play a role in depression.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is a neurotransmitter in the brain that has an enormous influence over many brain functions. It is synthesized, from the amino acid L-tryptophan, in brain neurons and stored in vesicles. Serotonin is found in three main areas of the body: the intestinal wall; large constricted blood vessels; and the central nervous system. The most widely studied effects have been those on the central nervous system. The functions of serotonin are numerous and appear to involve control of appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, mood, behavior (including sexual and hallucinogenic behavior), cardiovascular function, muscle contraction, endocrine regulation, and

(3) While successful drug therapies which act on neurotransmitters in the brain imply that depression is a neurobiological condition (4), the fact that such medications do not help about 20 percent of depression-sufferers seems to show that not all depression is due to such imbalances. Rather, depression is not caused by one single factor; it is most often caused by many different things. Genetics, biochemical factors, medicines and alcohol, developmental and other external factors, and relationships, marriage and children all have effect on the development of clinical depression. (5) The strongest hypotheses on the pathways to depression are in decreases in the activity of specific neurotransmitters, or the overactivity of certain hormonal systems. (3)

According to Morgan (2015), the neuroscience of depression has an emotional impact on many areas of the brain. The stressors in the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis initiate the release of the

The severity of depression has been supported through scientific evidence that indicates that depression has a biological basis in the brain of a depressed person along with psychological and social implications. Whilst there are many catalysts in a person’s life that can be identified as a possible root cause of depression, such as stressful life events or the death of a loved one, the issue is far more complex, as the biological triggers of depression are not as easily expressed, such as faulty mood regulation in the brain, vulnerable genetics in the DNA, and other medical problems. Many things are altered in the brain of the depressed person. Firstly, what most understand to be an imbalance in the levels of chemicals that regulate emotions, is in reality far more elaborate. The true issue surrounding the many chemicals involved inside and outside of the nerve cells that undergo numerous chemical reaction which make up the dynamic system that is responsible for mood, perceptions, and the way one experiences life you experiences life can be altered in different ways that affect how one lives. Along with the brains chemicals, the connections between nerve cells called neurons decrease and deteriorate, meaning the

Neurotransmitters involved in depression include norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. An imbalance of hormones may also play a role in depression. Many depressed people have higher than normal levels of hydrocortisone, a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In addition, an underactive or overactive thyroid gland can lead to depression.4