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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday November 03 2015, @10:41PM   Printer-friendly
from the does-this-extend-to-middle-age dept.

Early life stress is a major risk factor for later episodes of depression. In fact, adults who are abused or neglected as children are almost twice as likely to experience depression.

Scientific research into this link has revealed that the increased risk following such childhood adversity is associated with sensitization of the brain circuits involved with processing threat and driving the stress response. More recently, research has begun to demonstrate that in parallel to this stress sensitization, there may also be diminished processing of reward in the brain and associated reductions in a person's ability to experience positive emotions.

Researchers at Duke University and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio looked specifically at this second phenomenon in a longitudinal neuroimaging study of adolescents, in order to better understand how early life stress contributes to depression.

They recruited 106 adolescents, between the ages of 11-15, who underwent an initial magnetic resonance imaging scan, along with measurements of mood and neglect. The study participants then had a second brain scan two years later.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Zz9zZ on Wednesday November 04 2015, @05:36AM

    by Zz9zZ (1348) on Wednesday November 04 2015, @05:36AM (#258291)

    I like your response, resonates. The research seems obvious in hindsight, especially knowing that the brain is adaptive. Process a certain type of signal repeatedly and the brain becomes very adept at making that circuit function.

    Mental health isn't new, but it is relatively new in the scheme of human endeavor. We are just beginning to understand the effects of nature and nurture, though I believe it has been demonstrated that nurture tends to have the greater impact, I'm thinking of (holy crap wading through the internet without specific info is too much sometimes) an experiment where offspring from a healthy and stressed rat were switched to the opposite mother. The genetically stressed rats got way better, the healthy rats got way worse. Nurture made a huge impact.

    Hopefully we as a species will get better at handling social traumas. One thing that leaps to mind is the fact that apologies go a LONG way to fixing any social blunders. Did you screw up and now you feel awkward about it? Just apologize, "sorry that happened, I shouldn't have lashed out that much." Did someone else screw up? Just point it out, it is much better to confront a situation than to bury it in your psyche. Did other people give you shit? Judge you for it? That is their problem. Don't hold your issues inside, bring them up before they become REAL demons.

    With all that arm-chair psychology I feel obligated to say "give a shit about your kids." There are few people I have truly negative feelings for, but one who deserves some of the most has gotten a HUGE pass because she cares a lot about her children. Take care of your kids? VIP pass :P

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    ~Tilting at windmills~
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Wednesday November 04 2015, @06:54PM

    by Freeman (732) on Wednesday November 04 2015, @06:54PM (#258462) Journal

    This is the study you were looking for: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/286/5442/1155.abstract [sciencemag.org]

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Tuesday November 10 2015, @04:49AM

      by Zz9zZ (1348) on Tuesday November 10 2015, @04:49AM (#261080)

      Sweet thanks :) Haven't logged in for a while...

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      ~Tilting at windmills~