Study shows depression can shrink the brain
The effect disrupts circuits associated with mental functioning and emotion.
It could explain why people with major depressive disorder (MDD) suffer from concentration and memory loss, as well as blunted emotional responses.
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Hide AdSeveral genes involved in building synapses, the connection points between brain cells, were suppressed in people with MDD, scientists found.
This was thought to contribute to shrinkage of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which occurs in MDD sufferers.
Researchers in the United States analysed brain tissue from patients who had died after being diagnosed with MDD.
The research is published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Medicine..