Depression

Question 1

Biological symptoms of depression

Answer 1

• poor sleep

- poor appeptite

Question 2

In depr

Answer 2

• cortisol binds back to receptors which switch off the ongoing production of cortisol. So youre response is diminished. However in depression there is increased cortisol

Question 3

Depression

Answer 3

• more cortisol
• enlarged adrenals and pituitary
• reduced negative feedback
• reduced GR expression: glucocorticoid resistance

Question 4

How does this link to depression

Answer 4

history of childhood maltreatment

- increased ACTH release in response to stress

Question 5

Other thigns that affect HPA function

Answer 5

1.) Social rank: subordinate monkeys have heavoer adrenal glands/increased cortisol in hair

Question 6

How does stress affect the brain

Answer 6

• Steroids are:
  1. ) neurotozic
  2. ) cause neuro-vulnerability
  3. ) Affect dendrite formation
  4. ) Reduces neurogenesis
• affects frontal lobes and hippocampus

Question 7

How are the frontal lobes

Answer 7

1. ) Medial pre frontal cortex

2. ) Dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex

Question 8

Medial PFC

Answer 8

• evaluating emotional state
• social cognition
• less volume loss

Question 9

Dorsolateral PFC

Answer 9

• working memory
• problem solving
• large volume loss

Question 10

The hippocampus

Answer 10

• important for memory

- bilateral lesions: complete anterograde memory loss

Question 11

How is the hippocampus affected

Answer 11

• reduced in size in MDD

Question 12

What does stress do

Answer 12

It down regulates neurogenesis

Question 13

What causes reduced neurogeneis

Answer 13

• restraint and shock stress

Question 14

What else does stress affect

Answer 14

Dendrites

Question 15

Stress

Answer 15

0 Mediated by reduced neurotrophins e.g. BDNF

Question 16

What is BDNF

Answer 16

• stress = less BDNF

Question 17

How do antidepressants work

Answer 17

• they work by affecting gene expression
• antidepressants increase GR expression
• they cause neurogenesis
• increase BDNF synthesis

Question 18

Scanning techniques that can be used

Answer 18

• allows the study of networks

- functional connectvity

Question 19

What is the function of the default mode network

Answer 19

• it is what comes on when rhere’s nothing to do
• daydreaming
• when the prefrontal cortex/porterior cingulate cortex/hippocamus is in action

Question 20

Function of the default mode network

Answer 20

1. ) Autobiographical details: projecting to other places in time and space
2. ) Self reference
3. ) Thinking about others

Question 21

DMN in depression

Answer 21

• depressed people excessively ruminate

Question 22

Tests with modern scanning on people in the acute psychedelic state

Answer 22

• reduced activity in the DMN

- reduced power in PCC

Question 23

Introduction to entropy

Answer 23

• it is a measure of disorder/chaos

Question 24

How does the brain try to reduce entropy

Answer 24

• Makes predictions
• called top-down processing
• initially: visual prediction until eventually core beleifs

Question 25

what is depression a disease of

Answer 25

1. ) Depression is a disease of reduced plasticity: reduced connectivity at the cellular level
2. ) Depression is a disease of increased self-referential thinking: reduced connectivity at the interpersonal level