Category: Depression

The probiotic for depression buffered the body against the damaging effects of stress.

Depression has been reversed in mice by feeding them probiotic bacteria, research reports.

Lactobacillus is a type of ‘good’ bacteria found in yogurt, among other foods.

The role of the gut microbiome — the bacteria which live in our gut — has become a focus of research interest recently.

Dr Alban Gaultier, who led the study, said:

“The big hope for this kind of research is that we won’t need to bother with complex drugs and side effects when we can just play with the microbiome.

It would be magical just to change your diet, to change the bacteria you take, and fix your health — and your mood.”

Probiotics for depression study

The scientists found that when mice in the study were put under stress, the bacteria in their gut changed.

The main change was a reduction in Lactobacillus, which was linked to depressed behaviour in the mice.

Feeding them Lactobacillus almost completely stopped their depressive behaviours.

The researchers found a mechanism for how this change in the gut led to depression (it is through a metabolite called kynurenine).

First author, Ms Ioana Marin said:

“This is the most consistent change we’ve seen across different experiments and different settings we call microbiome profiles.

This is a consistent change.

We see Lactobacillus levels correlate directly with the behavior of these mice.”

The researchers plan to continue investigating kynurenine’s role in depression, Ms Marin said:

“There has been some work in humans and quite a bit in animal models talking about how this metabolite, kynurenine, can influence behavior.

It’s something produced with inflammation that we know is connected with depression.

But the question still remains: How?

How does this molecule affect the brain?

What are the processes?

This is the road we want to take.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Marin et al., 2017).

Depressed has some benefits and may even be necessary, positive and have advantages sometimes.

One benefit of depression is that it is an adaptive way of dealing with certain problems in life, such as relationship breakdown and illness, say the authors of a study.

While clinical depression is a serious mental health issue, the researchers argue that by examining how depression might have originally arisen, we can better understand how to treat it.

Dr. Paul Andrews, who led the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, said:

“Depression has long been seen as nothing but a problem.

We are asking whether it may actually be a natural adaptation that the brain uses to tackle certain problems.

We are seeing more evidence that depression can be a necessary and beneficial adaptation to dealing with major, complex issues that defy easy understanding.”

In fact, people who are depressed display some surprising advantages in their thinking skills.

Depressed people:

1. process information more deeply.
2. are more accurate at complex tasks.
3. make better judgements on detail-oriented information.
4. make more accurate cost-benefit analyses.

Benefit of depression

The researchers developed a questionnaire which measures ‘analytical rumination’, a mental process which is thought to be an ancient defence mechanism and the root of depression (Barbic et al., 2014).

Analytical rumination is where people turn problems over in their heads to the exclusion of all else, trying to look for a solution.

They first examine the problem’s cause, then the things that need solving, any possible solutions plus the costs and benefits of each solution.

The symptoms of depression, which often include lethargy, difficulty sleeping, poor concentration and disinterest in other people or the external world, may actually be ways of saving energy while a person is focusing on the problem.

Positives of depression

Clinical depression may be a result of this natural process getting out of control, causing people to withdraw from the world after getting stuck in a loop.

Dr Skye Barbic, the study’s first author, said:

“Based on how people answer our questions, we can tailor appropriate levels of care and supports.

This set of questions can also inform completely different discussions between the clinician and the patient.

Instead of discussing the disease as a ‘bad thing’, clinicians may be able to help patients have insight about the potential adaptive purposes of their thinking and how this may be used as a strength to move forward in their lives.”

Dr Zachary Durisko, another of the study’s authors, said:

“When working with many people who experience chronic health conditions, depression is often the limiting factor to recovery and goal attainment.

The test can potentially quickly tell us when people are struggling to identify their problems, trying to set goals, or trying to move forward in their lives. “

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The food contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants that can reduce inflammation in the body.

Eating dark chocolate could reduce the risk of depression by 70 percent, research suggests.

Dark chocolate has a high concentration of cacao (above 70%).

Cacao contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants that can reduce inflammation in the body.

Inflammation has been strongly linked to the onset of depression.

Chocolate contains a number of psychoactive ingredients, which can produce a feeling like euphoria.

Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, which can enhance people’s mood.

Studies find, though, that it is not just about what is in the chocolate.

The sensual pleasure of eating chocolate is central to its effect on mood.

The study included 13,626 adults who were asked about their chocolate consumption and any depressive symptoms, among other things.

The results showed that those who ate dark chocolate had a 70 percent lower chance of depression.

Those eating the most chocolate, of any kind, were less likely to report being depressed than those who ate no chocolate, the study found.

In contrast, those eating non-dark chocolate did not have a lower risk of depression.

Dr Sarah Jackson, the study’s first author, said:

“This study provides some evidence that consumption of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, may be associated with reduced odds of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.

However further research is required to clarify the direction of causation — it could be the case that depression causes people to lose their interest in eating chocolate, or there could be other factors that make people both less likely to eat dark chocolate and to be depressed.

Should a causal relationship demonstrating a protective effect of chocolate consumption on depressive symptoms be established, the biological mechanism needs to be understood to determine the type and amount of chocolate consumption for optimal depression prevention and management.”

The study was published in the journal Depression and Anxiety (Jackson et al., 2019).

Caffeinated coffee may reduce depression risk by up to 20 percent.

Drinking caffeinated coffee reduces depression risk, research finds.

The more caffeine women in the study drank, the lower their chances of becoming depressed.

Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day was linked to a 15 percent reduction in depression risk.

Those drinking four or more cups per day had a 20 percent reduced risk.

Other studies in men have also suggested that caffeine intake is linked to lower depression.

Coffee reduces depression study

The conclusions come from a study that followed 50,739 US nurses.

They were tracked for 10 years and none were depressed at the start of the study.

Over the study’s duration, their intake of caffeinated drinks was tracked.

This included caffeinated soft drinks as well as non-herbal tea and coffee.

The study’s authors explain the results:

“In this large prospective cohort of older women free of clinical depression or severe depressive symptoms at baseline, risk of depression decreased in a dose-dependent manner with increasing consumption of caffeinated coffee.”

However, due to the nature of the study it:

“…cannot prove that caffeine or caffeinated coffee reduces the risk of depression but only suggests the possibility of such a protective effect.”

Decaffeinated coffee was not linked to any reduction in risk.

The study was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine (Lucas et al., 2011).

After taking psilocybin, depressed people experienced feelings of unity, transcendence of space and time and a loss of boundaries.

Psilocybin – the active part of magic mushrooms — can help reduce depression symptoms and reawaken the emotions, research finds.

The stronger the ‘mystical experience’, the more the hallucinogenic drug helped.

People whose depression was most improved reported a more mystical experience, including feelings of unity and transcendence.

Although antidepressants like Prozac can often help those who are depressed, they reduce both positive and negative emotions.

Psilocybin therapy, though, may revive brain activity and help people reconnect with their emotions.

Dr Leor Roseman, the study’s first author, said:

“Our findings are important as they reveal biological changes after psilocybin therapy and, more specifically, they suggest that increased emotional processing is crucial for the treatment to work.”

Psilocybin and positive emotions study

The conclusions come from a small trial on 20 depressed people.

All stopped taking their antidepressants for two weeks and were given two doses of psilocybin under controlled conditions in the lab.

Afterwards, patients reported feeling emotionally re-connected.

Brain scans revealed that their response to emotional faces after taking psilocybin was increased.

Dr Roseman said:

“Having a healthy control group in future studies should be helpful in answering some of these questions.

We also want to investigate how the amygdala responds a longer time after treatment, which will inform us about longer term effects – compared to the current study, which was only looked at one day after the therapy.”

Feelings of unity

The researchers also looked at patients’ feelings about taking the hallucinogen.

Those who found it helped most reported a more ‘mystical experience’.

They were more likely to experience feelings of unity, transcending space and time, and a loss of boundaries.

The next stage for the researchers is to directly compare psilocybin with antidepressants.

The studies were published in the journals Neuropharmacology   and Frontiers in Pharmacology (Roseman et al., 2017; Roseman et al., 2018).

Neuroticism and depression are linked but a study finds beneficial effects of two other personality traits together.

Being extraverted and conscientious helps to reduce the risk of depression in neurotic people, new research finds.

People who are highly neurotic typically look at the world in a negative way.

They also find it hard to deal with stress and can experience a lot of negative emotions.

However, it seems being social and organised helps to ameliorate the effect.

Dr Kristin Naragon-Gainey, the study’s first author, explained:

“If someone has high levels of extraversion they might be very good at gathering social support or increasing their positive affectivity through social means.

Similarly, conscientiousness has a lot to do with striving toward goals and putting plans in action, which can combat the withdrawal and avoidance that can go along with neuroticism.”

Typically, in the past psychologists have focused on how individual aspects of personality affect depression risk.

Dr Naragon-Gainey explained that the key to this new study was looking beyond one single personality trait, like neuroticism:

“We know individually how these traits relate to symptoms, but now we are beginning to understand how the traits might impact one another.

We have to consider the whole person in order to understand the likelihood of developing negative symptoms down the road.”

Neuroticism and depression study

For the study, 463 people who had had psychiatric treatment in the last year were interviewed and surveyed.

Many were had both high levels of neuroticism and depression.

Statistical analysis showed that high conscientiousness and high extraversion together had a protective effect on people who were highly neurotic.

Dr Naragon-Gainey said:

“I think there’s a tendency in treatment and clinical psychology to concentrate on the problems and the negatives.

If you utilize the pre-existing strengths that clients bring with them, it can positively affect treatment and the level of symptoms going forward, as well as reinforcing what the person is already doing well.”

The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Naragon-Gainey & Simms, 2018).