How MRI's Identify Depression
Major depressive disorder affects approximately 16 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older, in a given year. Despite this statistic, there is still a stigma towards depression and other mental illnesses in the United States. It is often perceived that depression is something an individual can just “get over” or a state of mind. However, An international team of researchers from UK’s University of Warwick and Fudan University in China may just have proven that depression is much more than a mindset and utilized MRI technology to pinpoint it in the brain.
Where is Depression Located?
According to their research, depression results from connection pattern changes in a key area of the brain called the orbifrontal cortex. The researchers used a high-precision MRI to scan the brains of more than 900 people, of which 421 were patients with major depressive disorder. They found that feelings of loss and low self-esteem are directly linked to two sides the orbifrontal cortex — the medial orbifrontal cortex and the lateral orbifrontal cortex.
What Does This Mean?
The medial orbifrontal cortex, which responds to positive life events, showed reduced functional connectivity in depression. This is why people with depression feel a sense of loss, disappointment, and low self-esteem. The lateral orbifrontal cortex, on the other hand, exhibited stronger functional connectivity in persons with depression. This sector of the OFC is involved in negative life events. In other words, a depressed person’s brain processes and remembers negative life events better than positive life events. You can learn more about this study here.
Depression isn’t just a mindset, and individuals who suffer from chronic depression should seek medical attention. If it’s an emergency you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Line 24/7.