Does anxiety shut down brain activity and cause depression?
April 4th 2010 20:52
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From themedguru
Researchers at the University of Illinois, U.S., established that unlike vigilance that aggravates depression, worrying may neutralize brain activity and undo some of the unfavorable effects of depression.
Lead researcher and psychologist, Professor Gregory Miller, University of Illinois said, “Sometimes worry is a good thing to do. Maybe it will get you to plan better. Maybe it will help you to focus better. There could be an upside to these things.”
“It could be that having a particular type of anxiety will help processing in one part of the brain while at the same time hurting processing in another part of the brain,” added Gregory.
Details of the study
For the study, the research team observed depression and two types of anxiety; anxious arousal that is the fearful vigilance that occasionally turns into panic and anxious apprehension or worry.
The study involved a task wherein the subjects were asked to identify colors of words connotative of negative, positive or neutral meanings, ignoring the latter part.
Researchers gauged the subjects’ brain areas that became activated in response to emotional words, by doing their brain scans using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).
Findings of the study
Analysis revealed that fMRI scans of anxious depressed subjects performing the task were different from those of panicky depressed subjects.
It was found that neural activity in different parts of brain caused varied reactions. Anxious arousals activated the right inferior temporal lobe, just behind the ear, while worrying activated a region in the left frontal lobe linked to speech production.
Researchers also found that such activity was higher in worried and depressed but non-fearful subjects and anxious arousal was caused when a person’s intensity of anxious apprehension was low.
Hence, it was established that worriers performed the task better implying that they had better ability to ignore the meaning of negative words and concentrate on the task.
Study associate, Wendy Heller, Urbana-Champaign campus concluded, “Although we think of depression and anxiety as separate things, they often co-occur.”
The study appears in the journal Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience.
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