The brain of people suffering from recurrent depression has a significantly smaller hippocampus than people with good mental health, according to the latest study carried out by an international team of researchers and whose conclusions have been published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry .
For the experiment, the scientists had data from about 9,000 people from the US, Europe and Australia, comparing their brain volumes, both from people with recurrent depression (who represented 1,728) and without it (7,199 people). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with the formation of new memories, was much smaller in those with recurrent depression.
“Our findings shed new light on brain structures and possible mechanisms responsible for depression. The need to treat the first episodes of depression effectively is confirmed , especially in adolescents and young adults ”, explains Jim Lagopoulos, from the Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Sydney (Australia) and co-author of the study.
The work emphasizes that the understanding of the brain structures linked to depression is still a long way off, but “this large study confirms the need to treat the first episodes of depression effectively, especially in adolescents and young adults, to avoid brain changes. that accompany recurrent depression, ”adds Lagopoulos.
