Changing Brain: How Depression Can Alter Your Brain Structure

An average human brain weighs?1.5 kilograms?which are not even near our entire body weight. How can something so tiny have such an important role in our life, literally controlling everything in and around us? We depend on our brain for all possible functions right from cognition, thinking, storage purpose, problem-solving, decision making, memory, and more. As a product of evolution, Homo Sapiens have a great cognitive capacity and we also know how to use it efficiently, most of the time.

In brief, our brains are made up of grooves and ridges known as?gyri?and?sulci, respectively, to fit into our skulls compactly. It is made up of 3 parts — Cerebrum, Cerebellum and Medulla Oblongata.?The cerebrum?is the largest part of the brain responsible for thinking, decision making, judgement, reasoning, interpreting various sensory information and other major functions. The?cerebellum?controls the movement and balance of the body and the?medulla oblongata?connects the brain to the spinal cord and performs higher functions.

How does a normal human brain function?

A normal brain indicates a healthy brain which functions very efficiently, performing all tasks without any lag in the system.?Neuropsychology?is an important branch of psychology that talks about how the areas of the brain are related to multiple psychological functions. Our brain also initiates the release of chemical messengers called?hormones?using the?hypothalamus?and the?pituitary glands. These hormones are responsible for the optimal functioning of various parts of the body. For instance, the hormone?adrenaline?is responsible for activating fight/flight mode in our body under new or dangerous situations.?Insulin?is required by the body to maintain glucose levels and low levels can be a cause of diabetes.?Testosterone?and?Oestrogen?are sex hormones for males and females respectively.

Other than this, there are lobes in the brain that are responsible for different psychological tasks. The?frontal lobe?performs executive functions and other higher-order functions like cognitive skills, planning, goal execution, self-monitoring and so on. The?temporal lobe?is vital in using recognising and language since it is located in the region around our ears. The?parietal lobe?is involved in managing and interpreting sensory perceptions like taste, touch, sound, smell and vision. The?occipital lobe?is responsible for visuospatial processing of the brain which includes several factors like object and face recognition, colour determination, etc.

Apart from these lobes, one of the most essential parts of the brain which is responsible for several psychological functions is the?Amygdala. This part is the centre of emotions, emotional behaviour and motivation. Meaning the Amygdala identifies, interprets and processes various emotions like joy, sadness, anger, disgust, fear and more. It helps perceive the threat of fear or danger for the body to prepare to fight or flight. The?Hippocampus?is another very important part of the brain which is responsible for memory, including short term memory, long term memory, storage and retrieval of contents.

Lastly, the brain is also responsible for the generation and transmission of various?neurotransmitters?that help in maintaining the optimal functioning of the body. Some of the most important neurotransmitters are dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, GABA, and more.

How does the brain alter when affected by depression?

Depression is a mental health condition that leads to a person experiencing endless sadness, worthlessness, hopelessness, and emptiness, which is persistent. There has been a lot of research done as to what is the cause of depression — is it the biology (genes) or the environment? After a lot of effort into this debate, depression can certainly be a result of both but there is still not a sure answer. Several neuroimaging techniques have been used to understand how depression changes the structure of the brain. Brain regions like the?prefrontal cortex,?basal ganglia,?cerebellum?and?insula?among others. In all of these areas of the brain, there is a?decreased activity?noticed and a relative?lack of activation. There is a difference in responses towards positive and negative stimuli in brain regions including the cerebellum and posterior cingulate cortex.

With respect to the amygdala, this centre?overreacts?to negative stimuli and responds excessively to them. This in turn activates behavioural and physiological responses to the emotional stimuli. With most of the brain areas affected due to depression, their activity time reduces and the time taken to identify and respond to stimuli gets slower. The brain also?magnifies the negative experiences?and discards the positive experiences. It is also found that people struggling with depression undergo extremely low levels of activity in the?prefrontal cortex?which is also the centre for higher executive functions, thus affecting these functions. The volume of the?anterior cingulate cortex?is a centre for emotion processing and with depression, this brain region’s size is found to decrease. Overall, depression also affects the?connectivity of the brain?by reducing the levels of hormones necessary for functioning.

How to reverse the effect?

Depression?affects several regions of the brain with hypoactivity. It has been seen that the best remedies for people struggling with severe depression are?antidepressants. Antidepressants include?SSRI?which increase the levels of serotonin in the body and stabilise mood with the gradual intake of medicines. A combination of antidepressants with talk therapy including?Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?can help people with depression to a huge extent. While the medicines work on the brain structure, therapy works on the?irrational thoughts?and development of healthier alternatives for both thoughts and beliefs, leading to healthier behaviours. In depression, people discard anything positive happening with them or around them. This could be due to the brain structures or due to the irrational thoughts but one can try taking active efforts in taking smaller steps and acknowledging them. It is difficult but with a constant effort, one will start looking at the positive side of things eventually. A combination of psychotherapy and medications would be the best possible route for people undergoing moderate to severe levels of depression.

Talk to a?therapist?and know you can reverse the effect of depression.