Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have revealed how Lactobacillus, a bacterium found in fermented foods and yogurt, helps the body manage stress and may help prevent depression and anxiety. The findings pave the way for new therapies to treat anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. According to UVA researcher Alban…
Tag: stress
Female and Male Brain Cells Respond Differently to Chronic Stress
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science have discovered in unprecedented detail how the brains of male and female mice react differently to stress. The findings may lead to a better understanding of health conditions affected by chronic stress, such as anxiety, depression, and even obesity and diabetes, and pave the way for personalized treatments…
Early-life Stress Disturbs Brain Reward Circuits
According to a mouse study, a newly discovered brain connection can explain how early-life stress and adversity disrupt the operation of the brain’s reward circuit. This circuit’s dysfunction is thought to be at the root of several major disorders, including depression, substance abuse, and excessive risk-taking. The discovery provides a new therapeutic target for treating…
Amygdala Response Pattern Marks Vulnerability to PTSD
A marker that predicts susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder has been discovered by researchers. One area of the brain seems to be more active in people with PTSD when they see surprised or neutral facial expressions, the study found. It may be essential to recognize one’s susceptibility to developing PTSD. If you knew you were…
Can Gratitude Make You Feel Less Stressed?
Marriages and other close relationships, as well as those with loosely connected individuals, like coworkers, are known to benefit from expressions of gratitude. Additionally, it has been shown that gratitude can mitigate the detrimental effects of materialism, making those who practice it happier with their lives overall. Now, in a study with 68 adults, researchers…
Pandemic Stresses Physically Altered Adolescents’ Brains
Reports of anxiety and depression in adults increased by more than 25% in 2020 compared to previous years. Recently published findings suggest that the pandemic’s neurological and mental health effects on adolescents may have been even worse. According to the research, pandemic-related stressors physically altered teenagers’ brains, making their brain structures appear several years older…
Stress Resilience Correlates With Regional Myelin Changes In The Brain
Acute stress is associated with increased myelination of axons in areas of the brain associated with memory and emotions, recent research shows. The study1, from scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and UC San Francisco (UCSF), represents a potential explanation for why some people are quick to recover from, and others vulnerable to traumatic…
Adaptive Brain Response To Stress Absent In People With Depression
A novel biomarker indicating resilience to chronic stress has been found by researchers. This biomarker is largely absent in people suffering from major depressive disorder, and this absence is further associated with pessimism in daily life, their new study1 finds. To our knowledge, this is the first work to show that glutamate in the human…
Stress-induced Depression: A Critical Role For Neural Inflammation
Neural inflammation caused by the innate immune system plays an unexpectedly important role in stress-induced depression, a team of Japanese researchers has revealed. Previous research had already hinted at the link between inflammation and depression, including increased levels of inflammation-related cytokines in the blood of patients suffering from depression, activation of microglia] inflammation-related cells in…