A fascinating new study in the journal Neuron suggests that stress might trigger inflammation in the brain through an immune process, thereby leading to depression.
Specifically, writes David DiSalvo:
When they [the researchers] allowed the mice brains to be affected by repeated bouts of stress, they were able to witness an immune response that triggered the release of cytokines – proteins that serve as a marker of inflammation in both mice and humans.
That inflammatory response, in turn, led to “the atrophy and impaired response of neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex [part of the brain’s executive control center], causing depressive behavior.”
Your depression could, therefore, stem from your immune system’s response to constant stress. Like a delayed-two-for-one special.
This might explain why so many people have both anxiety and depression. It could be that the former provokes the latter, and anyone who has both probably recognizes a familiar pattern — enough stress eventually overwhelms you, leading to a feeling of hopelessness, depression, and dread.
In my experience, depression rarely leads to anxiety, it more often just sits there, whereas enough anxiety often takes you on the path towards depression.
DiSalvo writes about how crucial this study could prove for medical treatment:
For humans who suffer from stress-induced depression, this new understanding could lead to meds that target the brain’s immune response instead of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are targeted by today’s standard-issue antidepressants.
Photo: Pexels.
