Relationship between Brain functioning and Depression

Posted on September 20, 2018

Learning about how responses towards wins and losses impact Depression symptoms can help us further understand about two different types of risk factors for Depression, which are Life events exposure and Neural response to wins and losses. These two factors can react together and lead to Depression. The relationship between reactions from the brain, effects of one’s every day experiences and symptoms of Depression, shows how reactions within the brain can affect the way one’s experiences in life impact the risk level or immunity against symptoms of Depression.

Experiencing negative incidents in life is strongly associated with a heightened risk of Depression. Studies have shown that people with stronger reactions to wins, highlights the relationship between good life experiences derived from one’s behavior such as something as simple as making new friends, can lower the risk of Depression. Those with stronger reaction towards losing portrayed a link between bad life experiences regardless of any behavior. An example of someone having gone through a natural disaster can heighten their risk of having Depression, hence a stronger brain reaction towards losses makes one more susceptible to negative impacts from bad experiences, especially for bad experiences which one cannot control.

Specific brain functions can be focused on to change the impacts of good and bad experiences on people’s emotions during a crucial growth phrase in their lives. Treatments generated to enhance reactions to wins or desensitize reactions to losses can play a part in increasing the impact of good experiences or lower the negative impacts of bad experiences. Making changes to brain reactions towards life experiences protects and lowers the probability of Depression.


Category(s):Adult psychological development, Depression, Health Psychology

Source material from Science Daily