Depression is one of the leading causes of suicide worldwide, including Thailand. According to statistics from the Department of Mental Health in 2021, more than 1.5 million Thais suffer from depression, causing 4,000 deaths per year and resulting in 53,000 short-thinking attempts per year.
over the years I believe that many people are familiar with the disease and there may be at least one close person who suffers from depression. but still lacking proper understanding This makes some people still think that depressed patients are not really sick but are mentally weak.
Who looks at the patient with this attitude? Might have to think again. because the medical data clearly indicates that Depressed patient’s brain It is different from the normal human brain. So what’s the difference? What causes the patient’s neurotransmitters to be abnormal? Let’s come in and read the medical explanation as follows.
First of all, please understand that Medically, there is evidence that “Depression is classified as an illness.“It’s not a condition of a weak-minded person. and patients had to undergo treatment by taking neurotransmitter-controlling drugs to return to normal functioning
Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health Describe the symptoms of this disease as People with depression have feelings of discomfort, frustration, suffering, sadness, discouragement, lethargy, boredom, boredom, not wanting to talk, not wanting to do anything. or doing nothing as fun as before Those who had symptoms almost all day and continued for up to 2 weeks had a higher chance of getting it. “Depression” must be treated by taking medications to control neurotransmitters to function normally.
The results of the brain scan with PET Scan (Positron Emission Tomography Scan) is a technology for detecting diseases in nuclear medicine by using images to diagnose the function of organs and tissues within the body. which can diagnose a variety of diseases shows that brain image of a depressed patient There is a clear difference from the brain image of normal patients. A comparative image of the brain of a patient and a normal person has been published from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER), USA, with the message that
“PET scans can compare the brain activity of people with depression (left) to normal brain activity (right), seeing that the white and yellow areas (in the brain) are reduced. showed decreased brain function due to depression.”
Additionally, information from the Banyan Mental Health website states that scientists have discovered for many years that The brain of a depressed patient It is significantly different from the normal human brain.
When comparing the brains of people with depression to the brains of normal people. Scientists have found a subtle but important difference: gray matter abnormalities in the brain. Shrinking of the brain and overactive amygdala glands
*Note: Amygdala (Amygdala) is the neural tissue of the brain that looks like an almond. present in each side of the brain They are responsible for emotions and survival instincts such as fear, love, and anger, as well as aggressive behavior. and related to sexual desire
1. Gray matter abnormalities in the brain.
Gray matter in the brain refers to the brain tissue that is made up of nerve cells. People with depression were found to have thicker gray matter in parts of the brain involved in self-awareness and mood.
2. Shrinking of the brain tissue
Cortisol is a stress hormone in the brain. People with depression secrete higher amounts of cortisol than the average person. The effect of long-term secretion of large amounts of ormon cortisol results in different parts of the body. of the brain can really shrink It includes the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, which are involved in memory and decision-making. It will be smaller and malfunction.
(One study found On average, women with a history of depression have a hippocampus size 9-13 % smaller than a person who has never had depression.)
3. Abnormally active amygdala glands
The amygdala is a brain structure involved in the regulation of emotions. People with depression are more likely to have this gland in their brains that are active than they do in the brain. Especially people with brain depression are more alert than normal people. When receiving negative stimuli such as loud noises, hot weather, blame, smell, punishment, etc.
Based on the above information, many people (who are not sick) have a scientific understanding of the causes of depression. and truly understand depressed patients
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Reference: mayoclinic.org, Department of Mental Health, hfocus.org, The University of Queensland, Psych Congress Network, healthline.