American psychologists and neuroscientists from Harvard University have discovered patterns in the brain functioning of women prone to depression. It turns out that criticism of them triggers special processes in certain parts of the brain. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN).
Experiments with neuroimaging have shown that critical statements towards depressed women activate their brains’ passive mode network; This is a structure responsible for thought processes when we are idle and self-absorbed, dreaming, or reflecting on past and future events.
Excessive activity in the brain’s passive mode network may be indicative of rumination (anxious thoughts and an obsession with problems). Rumination may predict the onset or worsening of symptoms of mental health disorders, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders.
Additionally, the brain’s passive mode network plays a critical role in a variety of cognitive functions, including memory consolidation, social information processing, and the formation of sense of self.
53 women participated in the research. Participants were assessed for neuroticism and rumination using specific questionnaires. The processes in their brains were monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
During the experiment, volunteers listened to a series of comments based on the opinions of mothers of people with depression and borderline personality disorder, adapted for the study. These remarks, each lasting 30 seconds, were a mixture of criticism and praise.
The results showed that participants with high levels of neuroticism (i.e., increased risk of depression) showed greater activity in two regions of the brain’s passive mode network compared to women with average levels of neuroticism. These regions were the medial prefrontal cortex and the inferior parietal lobule. After hearing the praise, the networks of participants in the two default mode groups responded similarly. Additionally, activation of the left inferior parietal lobe was associated with rumination in the high neuroticism group, but not in the moderate neuroticism group.
According to scientists, this study allowed us to learn more about the processes in the brain of people prone to depression.
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