32 Quotes
"Surveys indicate that more than 80% of the public blames a “chemical imbalance” in the brain."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"For decades, it has also been touted as the pharmaceutical MVP for fighting depression."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Yet the causes of depression go far beyond serotonin deficiency. Clinical studies have repeatedly concluded that the role of serotonin in depression has been overstated."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"They found no convincing evidence that lower levels of serotonin caused or were even associated with depression."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"People with depression didn’t reliably seem to have less serotonin activity than people without the disorder."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"“Their lung function and everything wasn’t getting much better, but their mood tended to improve,” said Gerard Sanacora"
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"They discovered that the drugs blocked the animals’ body from absorbing compounds called amines — which include serotonin, a chemical that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"“Just because aspirin relieves a headache, [it] doesn’t mean that aspirin deficits in the body are causing headaches,”"
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Some clinical psychiatrists believe that one of the other compounds may be the true force inducing or relieving depression."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"“There’s quite good evidence from tryptophan depletion studies,” said Michael Browning, a clinical psychiatrist at the University of Oxford."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"A number of tryptophan depletion studies found that about two-thirds of people who have recently recovered from a depressive episode will relapse when given diets artificially low in tryptophan."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"And tryptophan has a secondary effect of raising serotonin levels in the brain."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Recent evidence also suggests that both tryptophan and serotonin may contribute to the regulation of bacteria and other microbes growing in the gut, and chemical signals from these microbiota could affect mood."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Not all theories of depression hinge on neurotransmitter deficiencies. Some look for culprits at the genetic level."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"“It’s really important that people understand that there is a genetics of depression,” Krystal said"
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"“For most common traits of interest, both genetic and environmental factors play a critical role.”"
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Different genetic variations can affect whether individuals respond to certain types of stress, such as sleep deprivation, physical or emotional abuse, and lack of social contact, by becoming depressed."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Research suggests that in the brains of people with chronic depression, the “white matter” areas that are rich in nerve fibers have fewer connections. The cause for this difference is uncertain, however."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Differences in a person’s genes may predispose them to depression; so, too, may differences in the neural wiring and structure of their brain."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Numerous studies have shown that individuals differ in how the neurons in their brains interconnect to form functional pathways, and that those pathways influence mental health."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"In a recent conference presentation, a team led by Jonathan Repple, a psychiatry researcher at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, described how they scanned the brains of acutely depressed volunteers and found that they differed structurally from those of a non-depressed control group."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"For example, people experiencing depression showed fewer connections within the “white matter” of the nerve fibers in their brains."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"After the depressed group underwent six weeks of treatment, Repple’s team ran another round of brain scans. This time, they found that the general level of neural connectivity in the depressed patients’ brains had increased as their symptoms lessened."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"A possible explanation for this change is the phenomenon of neuroplasticity. “Neuroplasticity means that the brain actually is able to create new connections, to change its wiring,” Repple said."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"If depression occurs when a brain has too few interconnections or loses some, then harnessing neuroplastic effects to increase interconnectedness might help lift a person’s mood."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Perhaps the depressed patients’ brain connections were impaired by inflammation."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Chronic inflammation impedes the body’s ability to heal, and in neural tissue it can gradually degrade synaptic connections."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"When psychiatrists have evaluated populations of patients who have chronic inflammatory diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, they’ve found that “all of them have higher-than-average rates of depression,” said Charles Nemeroff, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of Texas, Austin."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"The sudden influx of inflammatory cytokines leads to appetite loss, fatigue and a slowdown in mental and physical activity — all symptoms of major depression."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Viral inflammation can extend directly to tissues in the brain. Devising an effective anti-inflammatory treatment for depression may depend on knowing which of these causes is at work."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"Increasingly, some scientists are pushing to reframe “depression” as an umbrella term for a suite of related conditions, much as oncologists now think of “cancer” as referring to a legion of distinct but similar malignancies."
— Joanna Thompson
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine"But “appreciating the true, real complexity of depression takes us down a path that is ultimately going to be most impactful,”"
— Joanna Thompson
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