Study: How Depressive Thoughts Persevere, Interfere with Memory in People with Depression
November 3, 2015—Intrusive, enduring, depressive thoughts are an ever-present part of daily life for people with depression. A first of its kind study from the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas published earlier this year in the Journal of Affective Disorders shows that depressive thoughts are maintained for longer periods of time for people with depressed mood, and this extended duration may reduce the amount of information that these individuals can hold in their memory. The findings have far-reaching implications for understanding how depression damages memory, as well as how depression develops and persists over the course of an individual's lifetime.
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Doing Good Deeds Helps Socially Anxious People Relax
Being busy with acts of kindness helps socially anxious people to not shy away from others
July 1, 2015—Being busy with acts of kindness can help people who suffer from social anxiety to mingle more easily. This is the opinion of Canadian researchers Jennifer Trew of Simon Fraser University and Lynn Alden of the University of British Columbia, in a study published in Springer's journal Motivation and Emotion.(Full story . . . )
Pupil Response Predicts Depression Risk in Kids
July 7, 2015—How much a child's pupil dilates in response to seeing an emotional image can predict his or her risk of depression over the next two years, according to new research from Binghamton University.
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Brain Imaging Shows How Children Inherit Their Parents' Anxiety
Madison, WI; July 6, 2015—In rhesus monkey families, just as in humans, anxious parents are more likely to have anxious offspring. And a new study in an extended family of monkeys provides important insights into how the risk of developing anxiety and depression is passed from parents to children.
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Losing a Spouse Often Too Hastily Linked to Depression
March 3, 2015—A new study by researchers at KU Leuven, in Belgium, has found that loneliness brought about by the death of a spouse can trigger a wider network of depression-like symptoms - but that doctors are often too quick to attribute these symptoms to depression.
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Brain Scans Predict Effectiveness of Talk Therapy to Treat Depression
Researchers lead first brain connectivity study pointing toward a new image-based diagnostic model
CHAPEL HILL, NC; February 4, 2015—UNC School of Medicine researchers have shown that brain scans can predict which patients with clinical depression are most likely to benefit from a specific kind of talk therapy. The study, which was published today in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, is the first to use a technique known as resting-state functional brain connectivity MRI to identify differences in brain wiring that predict therapeutic responses to talk therapy.
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A New Neural Circuit Controls Fear in the Brain
Researchers discover a pathway in that mouse brain that regulates fear memory and behavior
Cold Spring Harbor, NY; January 19, 2015—Some people have no fear, like that 17-year-old kid who drives like a maniac. But for the nearly 40 million adults who suffer from anxiety disorders, an overabundance of fear rules their lives. Debilitating anxiety prevents them from participating in life's most mundane moments, from driving a car to riding in an elevator. Today, a team of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) describes a new pathway that controls fear memories and behavior in the mouse brain, offering mechanistic insight into how anxiety disorders may arise.
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Oxytocin Helps in Overcoming Fear
Researchers at the University of Bonn Hospital show that the bonding hormone inhibits the fear center in the brain
November 13, 2014—Frightening experiences do not quickly fade from memory. A team of researchers under the guidance of the University of Bonn Hospital has now been able to demonstrate in a study that the bonding hormone oxytocin inhibits the fear center in the brain and allows fear stimuli to subside more easily. This basic research could also usher in a new era in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The study has been published online in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
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Even Depressed People Believe That Life Gets Better
October 21, 2014—Adults typically believe that life gets better—today is better than yesterday was and tomorrow will be even better than today. A new study shows that even depressed individuals believe in a brighter future, but this optimistic belief may not lead to better outcomes. The findings are published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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Talk Therapy, Not Medication, Best for Social Anxiety Disorder, Large Study Finds
But many lack access to trained therapists, choose medication or nothing at all to treat the common mental illness
September 25, 2014—While antidepressants are the most commonly used treatment for social anxiety disorder, new research suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is more effective and, unlike medication, can have lasting effects long after treatment has stopped.
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Extra Exercise Helps Depressed Smokers Kick the Habit Faster
New research shows quitting cigarettes is a more complicated struggle when mental health is a factor
July 22, 2014—People diagnosed with depression need to step out for a cigarette twice as often as smokers who are not dealing with a mood disorder. And those who have the hardest time shaking off the habit may have more mental health issues than they are actually aware of.
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Researchers Find Impaired Self-Face Recognition in Those with Major Depressive Disorder
July 16, 2014—Neuropsychological impairment has long been established as a fundamental characteristic of depression, but a specific pattern of impairment that is widely recognized has not been summarized. However, new research has found self-serving bias and self-recognition bias to be impaired in individuals suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) compared with a control group. This research lays the groundwork for further study on the etiology and pathological mechanisms of major depressive disorder.
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Antidepressant Drugs Do Not Improve Well-Being In Children And Adolescents
July 5, 2014—A study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics analyzing the use of antidepressant drugs in children and adolescents questions the effect of antidepressant drugs on overall well-being.
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Behavioral Therapy in Pediatric Antidepressant Treatment Reduces Likelihood of Relapse
DALLAS; July 2, 2014—Cognitive behavioral therapy in addition to medication improves the long-term success of treatment for children and adolescents suffering from depression, a new UT Southwestern Medical Center study indicates.
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Maternal Depression Peaks at Four Years Postpartum
May 21, 2014—Maternal depression is more common at four years following childbirth than at any other time in the first 12 months after childbirth, and there needs to be a greater focus on maternal mental health, suggests a new study published today (21 May) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
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Mothers’ Symptoms of Depression Predict How They Respond to Child Behavior
May 15, 2014—Depressive symptoms seem to focus mothers’ responses on minimizing their own distress, which may come at the expense of focusing on the impact their responses have on their children, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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Love Makes You Strong: Romantic Relationships Help Neurotic People Stabilize Their Personality
May 9, 2014—It's springtime and they are everywhere: Newly enamored couples walking through the city hand in hand, floating on cloud nine. Yet a few weeks later the initial rush of romance will have dissolved and the world will not appear as rosy anymore. Nevertheless, love and romance have long lasting effects.
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Researchers Find New Chemical Involved in Depression Risk
March 26, 2014—Scientists have shown for the first time that a chemical in the brain called galanin is involved in the risk of developing depression.
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Social Groups Alleviate Depression
March 19, 2014—Building a strong connection to a social group helps clinically depressed patients recover and helps prevent relapse, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Queensland. Senior Fellow Alexander Haslam, lead author Tegan Cruwys and their colleagues conducted two studies of patients diagnosed with depression or anxiety. The patients either joined a community group with activities such as sewing, yoga, sports and art, or partook in group therapy at a psychiatric hospital.
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Effective Treatment for Youth Anxiety Disorders Has Lasting Benefit
New study finds majority of youth respond well
Washington D.C., February 27, 2013— A study published in the March 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that the majority of youth with moderate to severe anxiety disorders responded well to acute treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medication (sertraline), or a combination of both. They maintained positive treatment response over a 6 month follow-up period with the help of monthly booster sessions.
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Remission from Depression Much Slower in Adults Who Were Abused in Childhood
TORONTO, ON; January 9, 2014—Remission from depression is delayed in adults who have experienced childhood physical abuse or parental addictions, a new study by University of Toronto researchers has found. The study is published this week in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
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Blue Monday: Brutal Cold, Short Days, Post-Holiday Letdown Raise Risk of Depression
Maywood, IL; Jan. 3, 2014—The first Monday after the holidays can be a depressing time for people coping with a post-holiday letdown and a type of depression triggered by short days called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). And this year, First Monday will be especially blue, due to the added stress of the brutal cold in the forecast, said Loyola University Medical Center psychiatrist Dr. Angelos Halaris, who specializes in treating depression.
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Getting Excited Helps with Performance Anxiety More than Trying to Calm down, Study Finds
Simple statements about excitement could have big effects, research shows
WASHINGTON; December 23,2013—People who tell themselves to get excited rather than trying to relax can improve their performance during anxiety-inducing activities such as public speaking and math tests, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.
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Depression in Pregnant Mothers May Alter the Pattern of Brain Development in Their Babies
Reports a new study in Biological Psychiatry
Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2013—Depression is a serious mental illness that has many negative consequences for sufferers. But depression among pregnant women may also have an impact on their developing babies.
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Depression in Pregnancy: Mothers Prefer Therapy over Medication
Journal of Psychiatric Practice provides guidance for clinicians on women's preferences and concerns about treating depression during and after pregnancy
Philadelphia, PA; November 18, 2013—Women with depression in the perinatal period experience a high degree of conflict in deciding whether and how to treat their depression, but strongly prefer treatments other than antidepressant medications, reports a study in the November Journal of Psychiatric Practice. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
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Are Probiotics a Promising Treatment Strategy for Depression?
New study considers concept of "psychobiotic"
Philadelphia, PA, November 14, 2013—Probiotics are not new, but their status as a nutritional buzzword is. But what are they, and why are they important? Probiotics are live bacteria that help maintain a healthy digestive system. The development and marketing of products that contain live bacteria has flourished as there is a growing perceived interest in the ingestion of 'natural foods' that might promote health.
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How Are Children Affected by Maternal Anxiety and Depression?
October 23, 2013—Maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression increased the risk of emotional and disruptive problem behaviors in children as early as 18 months of age, according to new research findings from a longitudinal Norwegian study known as "Tracking Opportunities and Problems in Childhood and Adolescence" (TOPP). The risk persisted into adolescence and also gave an increased risk of depressive symptoms. The study is published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
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Individuals Genetically Predisposed to Anxiousness May Be Less Likely to Volunteer and Help Others
MU researcher finds biological component of “prosocial” behavior linked to social anxiety
COLUMBIA, MO; October 14, 2013—Scientists increasingly are uncovering answers for human behavior through genetic research. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that prosocial behavior, such as volunteering and helping others, is related to the same gene that predisposes individuals to anxiety disorders. Helping such individuals cope with their anxiety may increase their prosocial behavior, the researcher said.
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Postpartum Depression Spans Generations
Animal study suggests stress-induced depression in new mothers extends to daughters
NORTH GRAFTON, MA; October 8, 2013—A recently published study suggests that exposure to social stress not only impairs a mother's ability to care for her children but can also negatively impact her daughter's ability to provide maternal care to future offspring.
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How Depression Blurs Memories
October 3, 2013—To pinpoint why depression messes with memory, researchers took a page from Sesame Street’s book.
The show’s popular game “One of these things is not like the others” helps young viewers learn to differentiate things that are similar—a process known as “pattern separation.”
A new Brigham Young University study concludes that this same skill fades in adults in proportion to the severity of their symptoms of depression. The more depressed someone feels, the harder it is for them to distinguish similar experiences they’ve had.
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Racism Linked to Depression and Anxiety in Youth
September 17, 2013—An international review led by the University of Melbourne has found children and young people experience poor mental health, depression and anxiety following experiences of racism.
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Diminishing Fear Vicariously by Watching Others
APS; September 16, 2013—Phobias—whether it's fear of spiders, clowns, or small spaces—are common and can be difficult to treat. New research suggests that watching someone else safely interact with the supposedly harmful object can help to extinguish these conditioned fear responses, and prevent them from resurfacing later on.
The research, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, indicates that this type of vicarious social learning may be more effective than direct personal experience in extinguishing fear responses.
"Information about what is dangerous and safe in our environment is often transferred from other individuals through social forms of learning," says lead author Armita Golkar of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. "Our findings suggest that these social means of learning promote superior down-regulation of learned fear, as compared to the sole experiences of personal safety."
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Mood is Influenced by Immune Cells Called to the Brain in Response to Stress
In Animal Study, Immune System Cells in Brain Lead to Anxiety Symptoms
COLUMBUS, OH; August 21, 2013—New research shows that in a dynamic mind-body interaction during the interpretation of prolonged stress, cells from the immune system are recruited to the brain and promote symptoms of anxiety.
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Brain Circuit Can Tune Anxiety
CAMBRIDGE, MA; August 21, 2013—Anxiety disorders, which include posttraumatic stress disorder, social phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder, affect 40 million American adults in a given year. In a step toward uncovering better targets for treatment, MIT researchers have discovered a communication pathway between two brain structures—the amygdala and the ventral hippocampus—that appears to control anxiety levels. By turning the volume of this communication up and down in mice, the researchers were able to boost and reduce anxiety levels.
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Worms May Shed Light on Human Ability to Handle Chronic Stress
Rutgers scientists question why some suffer and others are better able to cope
August 15, 2013—New research at Rutgers University may help shed light on how and why nervous system changes occur and what causes some people to suffer from life-threatening anxiety disorders while others are better able to cope.
Maureen Barr, a professor in the Department of Genetics, and a team of researchers, found that the architectural structure of the six sensory brain cells in the roundworm, responsible for receiving information, undergo major changes and become much more elaborate when the worm is put into a high stress environment.
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No Money for Diapers: A Depressing Reality for Poor Mothers
July 29, 2013—Low-income mothers who cannot afford diapers are also more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety, Yale University researchers write in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics. Three in 10 poor mothers report they cannot afford an adequate supply of diapers, the study found.
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People with Depression Tend to Pursue Generalized Goals
University of Liverpool research finds those with clinical depression are more likely to set abstract goals that are difficult to achieve
July 8, 2013—Researchers from the University of Liverpool have found that people with depression have more generalized personal goals than non-depressed people.
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Do Antidepressants Impair the Ability to Extinguish Fear?
June 10, 2013—An interesting new report of animal research published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that common antidepressant medications may impair a form of learning that is important clinically.
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Anxious? Activate Your Anterior Cingulate Cortex with a Little Meditation
WINSTON-SALEM, NC; June 3, 2013—Scientists, like Buddhist monks and Zen masters, have known for years that meditation can reduce anxiety, but not how. Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, however, have succeeded in identifying the brain functions involved.
“Although we’ve known that meditation can reduce anxiety, we hadn’t identified the specific brain mechanisms involved in relieving anxiety in healthy individuals,” said Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., postdoctoral research fellow in neurobiology and anatomy at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the study. “In this study, we were able to see which areas of the brain were activated and which were deactivated during meditation-related anxiety relief.”
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To Suppress or To Explore? Emotional Strategy May Influence Anxiety
Urbana-Champaign; May 13, 2013—When trouble approaches, what do you do? Run for the hills? Hide? Pretend it isn't there? Or do you focus on the promise of rain in those looming dark clouds?
New research suggests that the way you regulate your emotions, in bad times and in good, can influence whether—or how much—you suffer from anxiety.
The study, which appears in the journal Emotion, revealed that those who engage in an emotional regulation strategy called reappraisal tended to also have less social anxiety and less anxiety in general than those who avoid expressing their feelings. Reappraisal involves looking at a problem in a new way, said University of Illinois graduate student Nicole Llewellyn, who led the research with psychology professor Florin Dolcos, an affiliate of the Beckman Institute at Illinois.
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Risk of Depression Influenced by Quality of Relationships, Study Finds
U-M, April 30, 2013—The mantra that quality is more important than quantity is true when considering how social relationships influence depression, say University of Michigan researchers in a new study.
After analyzing data from nearly 5,000 American adults, the researchers found that the quality of a person's relationships with a spouse, family and friends predicted the likelihood of major depression disorder in the future, regardless of how frequently their social interactions took place.
Individuals with strained and unsupportive spouses were significantly more likely to develop depression, whereas those without a spouse were at no increased risk. And those with the lowest quality relationships had more than double the risk of depression than those with the best relationships.
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Mothers with Postpartum Depression Would Welcome Online Professional Treatment
CWRU, April 4, 2013—Mothers suffering from postpartum depression after a high-risk pregnancy would turn to online interventions if available anonymously and from professional healthcare providers, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences.
Postpartum depression, a moderate to severe depression that can occur after a woman has given birth, affects about 7 to 15 percent of new mothers. The effects can be felt soon after delivery to as long as a year later.
The Case Western Reserve study, which recruited survey participants from four popular information sites for new mothers, found that many women don’t seek counseling because of the time constraints of caring for a new-born and the stigma attached to depression.
“Mothers cannot always find a sitter and then spend time driving to and from counseling,” said Judith Maloni, PhD, RN, FAAN, the lead investigator and professor of nursing. “An online intervention is available when the moms have time.”
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Negative Emotions in Response to Daily Stress Take a Toll on Long-Term Mental Health
APS, April 2, 2013—Our emotional responses to the stresses of daily life may predict our long-term mental health, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Psychological scientist Susan Charles of the University of California, Irvine and colleagues conducted the study in order to answer a long-standing question: Do daily emotional experiences add up to make the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or do these experiences make us stronger and provide an inoculation against later distress?
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People with Depression May Not Reap Full Benefits of Healthy Behaviors
DURHAM, NC; March 26, 2013—Depression may inhibit the anti-inflammatory effects typically associated with physical activity and light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.
The finding—based on measurements of the cardio-metabolic risk marker C-reactive protein (CRP)—points to another potential danger of depression, which afflicts an estimated one in 10 adults in the United States. Study results were published online March 26, 2013, in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
"Our findings suggest depression not only directly affects an individual's mental and physical health; it might also diminish the health benefits of physical activities and moderate alcohol consumption," said lead author Edward C. Suarez, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke Medicine. "This appears to be specific to inflammation, which we know increases the risk for heart disease, so our findings suggest that depression could be a complicating risk factor."
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UNC Study Shows How Two Brain Areas Interact in Anxiety and Reward Behaviors
CHAPEL HILL, NC; March 20, 2013—New research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine for the first time explains exactly how two brain regions interact to promote emotionally motivated behaviors associated with anxiety and reward.
The findings could lead to new mental health therapies for disorders such as addiction, anxiety, and depression. A report of the research was published online by the journal, Nature, on March 20, 2013.
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Mindfulness at School Reduces Likelihood of Depression-Related Symptoms in Adolescents
LEUVEN, BELGIUM; March 15, 2013—Mindfulness is a form of meditation therapy focused on exercising 'attentiveness'. Depression is often rooted in a downward spiral of negative feelings and worries. Once a person learns to more quickly recognise these feelings and thoughts, he or she can intervene before depression sinks in.
While mindfulness has already been widely tested and applied in patients with depression, this is the first time the method has been studied in a large group of adolescents in a school-based setting, using a randomised controlled design. The study was carried out at five middle schools in Flanders, Belgium. About 400 students between the ages of 13 and 20 took part. The students were divided into a test group and a control group. The test group received mindfulness training, and the control group received no training.
The results suggest that mindfulness can lead to a decrease in symptoms associated with depression and, moreover, that it protects against the later development of depression-like symptoms.
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Surprising Rate of Women Have Depression After Childbirth
CHICAGO, March 13, 2013—A surprisingly high number of women have postpartum depressive symptoms, according to a new, large-scale study by a Northwestern Medicine® researcher.
The study, which included a depression screening of 10,000 women who had recently delivered infants at single obstetrical hospital, revealed a large percentage of women who suffered recurrent episodes of major depression. When a new mother is depressed, her emotional state can interfere with child development and increases the rate of insecure attachment and poor cognitive performance of her child, Wisner said. Maternal prenatal stress and depression is also linked to preterm birth and other mental and physical health risks to both mother and child.
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