Recurring Depression Hurts the Brain, Research Finds

Rebecca Lewis July 02, 2015

Recurring depression doesn’t only put your physical and mental health at a high risk. It also takes a huge toll on your brain by harming hippocampus – which is involved in forming new memories.

The study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, found that people with major depression, particularly those with recurring forms of the condition, tend to have a hippocampus. About a third of participants had had only one episode of major depression, and they did not show any reduction in the size of their hippocampus compared to non-depressed people.

About a third of participants had had only one episode of major depression, and they did not show any reduction in the size of their hippocampus compared to non-depressed people.

"This large study confirms the need to treat first episodes of depression effectively, particularly in teenagers and young adults, to prevent the brain changes that accompany recurrent depression," says Ian Hickie, the study lead author who co-directs the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney.

According to co-researcher Jim Lagopoulos, "these findings shed new light on brain structures and possible mechanisms responsible for depression."

"Despite intensive research aimed at identifying brain structures linked to depression in recent decades, our understanding of what causes depression is still rudimentary," Lagopoulos, who is an associate professor at the institute, said in the news release.

Whilst the study couldn’t point a cause-and-effect scenario, the researchers say that more research could help explain if the brain changes are the result of chronic stress, or if these changes could help identify people who are at risk of depression.

Source of this article: Recurrent Depression May Take Toll on the Brain