BBC Knowledge 2017 02

It seems abnormalities in grey matter may lead
to black moods. A team based at Warwick
University and China’s Fudan University has
found evidence that depression has a physical
root in the brain.
The findings could lead to new treatments
for depression by targeting the root cause
of the illness and helping depressed people
to stop focusing on negative thoughts,
the team said.
“More than one in 10 people in their
lifetime suffer from depression, a disease
which is so common in modern society and
we can even find the remains of Prozac – a
depression drug – in the tap water in
London,” said researcher Jianfeng Feng.
“Our finding enables us to locate the roots of
depression, which should open up new
avenues for better therapeutic treatments in
the near future for this horrible disease.”
After using high-precision MRI to scan the
brains of nearly 1,000 volunteers, half with
depression and half without, the team found
that the medial and lateral orbitofrontal
cortexes, areas of the brain associated with
emotion and reward, are wired up differently
in those suffering from depression.
The lateral orbitofrontal cortex is activated

PHYSICAL ROOT OF

DEPRESSION FOUND

IN BRAIN

during feelings of disappointment such as when

expected rewards are not received. The

researchers found that in depression sufferers it

is more closely connected to areas of the brain

involved in one’s sense of self, and could

therefore explain their negative self-perception

What did they do?

A team at the University of Exeter

eavesdropped on the conversations of cod.

Why did they do that?

They were looking for regional differences in

the sounds that fish make to establish

territories, raise the alarm and attract mates.

If separate populations communicate

differently, fish meeting for the first time

SCIENTISTS SEARCH FOR REGIONAL

ACCENTS IN COD

due to climate change driven migrations may

struggle to hit it off with their new neighbours.

What did they find?

American cod make a “staccato, banging, bop

bop bop sound” while European cod make

a “deep rumbling growling.” The difference

is thought to be due to localised breeding

grounds being established for thousands

of years, leading to regional accents.

and lower self-esteem.

They also found reduced connectivity

between the reward brain area in the medial

orbitofrontal cortex and memory systems

elsewhere, meaning depression sufferers are less

likely to recall happy memories.

NASA, GETTY ILLUSTRATION: RAJA LOCKEY, FLPA, LORI SANDERS/HARVARD; ILLUSTRATION: RAJA LOCKEY

THEY DID WHAT?!

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