How stress and depression can shrink the brain
(August 13, 2012) Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of
brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive
impairment. Now a team of researchers has discovered one reason why this occurs
— a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and
depression in animal models.
The findings, reported in the Aug. 12 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, show that the genetic switch known as a transcription factor represses the expression of several genes that are necessary for the formation of synaptic connections between brain cells, which in turn could contribute to loss of brain mass in the prefrontal cortex.
The findings, reported in the Aug. 12 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, show that the genetic switch known as a transcription factor represses the expression of several genes that are necessary for the formation of synaptic connections between brain cells, which in turn could contribute to loss of brain mass in the prefrontal cortex.