Excessive stress and depression can feel unbearable in the moment, and, in extreme cases, may even cause actual physical pain. While stress-reducing hobbies and therapy can help alleviate symptoms of these afflictions for some sufferers, a new study released this month has revealed that chronic stress or depression may have a long-standing impact on brain function.
Ronald Duman, a senior author of the study and professor of psychiatry and pharmacology director at Yale University, and his team of researchers based their research on the premise that increased stress inhibits the formation of synapses in the brain, and ultimately reduces its size.
After analyzing tissue samples of depressed and non-depressed individuals, Professor Duman's team observed that the brains of patients with documented depression showed signs of impairment in the section devoted to synaptic development.
In addition, according to Science Daily, the researchers found that one transcription factor in particular, GATA1, affected the performance of five of the synapse-forming genes that showed a reduced performance in depressed individuals. In addition, when the scientists tested how the activation of this factor impacted rodents, they reportedly observed that the test subjects showed reduced responses on par with depression symptoms.
"We hope that by enhancing synaptic connections, either with novel medications or behavioral therapy, we can develop more effective antidepressant therapies," Duman explains.
Although they have not explicitly been found to combat the signs of depression, omega-3 fatty acids are known to boost brain power by increasing synaptic connections throughout the brain and increasing its size. Foods rich in these nutrients, such as fish and walnuts, have also been recommended as part of a mood-enhancing diet by clinical psychiatrists including Huffington Post contributor Dr. Drew Ramsey.