Stress and depression can shrink the brain – Part 1
Friday, September 7th, 2012 11:29:23 by Fouad Ashraf
Major depression, or chronic stress, can cause loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to the emotional and cognitive impairment.Now a team of researchers, led by scientists at Yale, has discovered a genetic switch that
triggers the loss of brain connections in humans and in animal models of depression.
triggers the loss of brain connections in humans and in animal models of depression.
The results have been published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Research shows that the genetic switch, known as a transcription factor, represses the expression of multiple genes required for the formation of synaptic connections between brain cells, which in turn may contribute to cerebral mass loss in the
prefrontal cortex .
prefrontal cortex .
"We wanted to test the idea that stress causes a loss of synapses in the human brain," says lead author, Ronald Duman, professor of psychiatry, neurobiology and pharmacology at Yale.Thus, the researcher continued, "we have shown
that the circuits normally involved in emotion and cognition, are interrupted when this transcription factor is activated".
Tags: Brain, Depression, Science, Stress
that the circuits normally involved in emotion and cognition, are interrupted when this transcription factor is activated".
Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=32323
Posted by Fouad Ashraf
on Sep 7 2012. Filed under World.
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