Joining the quest to discover the brain basis for depression, a group of scientists recently published results from a study of youth (ages 4-24) with clinical depression (*).  The scientists compared the brain activity of 250 depressed youth to brain activity of a non-depressed group.

The study suggests that over-activation of two brain areas (Cingulate gyrus and thalamus) lead to “hypervigilance toward emotional stimuli”.  In other words the youth could not stop themselves from focusing on negative emotional ideas – this despite an increased activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (an area of the brain responsible for logical control of emotion).

While not offering final answers to the question, “What happens to the brain of people with depression?”, the article does provide evidence that brain malfunctions associated with depression can start in childhood.  The findings might also compel us to more urgently get help for children with depression, not to simply excuse depressive behaviors as a phase of childhood or something they can work out on their own.

(*)  Chris Miller and others. Meta-analysis of Functional Neuroimaging of Major Depressive Disorder in Youth, Journal of the American Medical Association -Psychiatry.  Published online September 2, 2015.