According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 300 million people who are affected by depression around the world. With so many people affected by depression, there are many research teams who are attempting to further understand how depression affects the brain.
One of the more recent developments in depression research comes from Ruh-Universitӓt Bochum scientists. This team has developed a computational model that focuses on how depression affects the brain. The new computational model has suggested that depression affects not only the development of new memories, but it can affect the recall of old memories too.
Sen Cheng analyzes brain functions with the aid of computer models. (Source: RUB, Marquard)
This new model is different from previous computational models for studying depression because it views memories as a sequence of neural activity. In previous models, memories were instead represented as static patterns of neural activity.
Pseudodementia is one of the many side effects of depression. This form of dementia is similar to traditional dementia with one main difference: pseudodementia happens during a depressive episode, but once the depressive episode ends, the memories return to the brain. This dementia affects new and old memories.
The research team wanted to focus on how depression affects memories. They developed a computational model that shows how memories are formed in a brain without depression and how memories are formed in a brain during a depressive episode. Their computation model shows the characteristic features of the brain and tests the brain’s ability to store and recall new memories.
The model showed that during a depressive episode, the brain forms fewer new neurons than normal. This means that the brain also forms fewer new memories. The model also showed that memory recall is affected by a depressive episode. The brain has a harder time distinguishing similar memories and recalls during a depressive episode. It was also found that the longer that a depressive episode goes on, the more that past memories are affected. This is probably one reason why the longer that someone is in a depressive episode, the harder it is for them to remember the happy moments.
“So far it was assumed that memory deficits only occur during a depressive episode," says Sen Cheng. "If our model is right, major depressive disorder could have consequences that are more far-reaching. Once remote memories have been damaged, they do not recover, even after the depression has subsided."
The paper on the computational model was published in PLOS ONE.
