Elaine's memory lapses seemed minor, but they were frequent. She often forgot where she had parked her automotive or why she had walked into the room. Reminiscing with friend, she could barely remember a tremendous vacation the 2 shared of their 40s. Now in her mid-60s – and with a mother affected by Alzheimer's disease – Elaine panicked that these memory gaps indicated that she, too, was affected by dementia.
But the actual perpetrator was far more insidious: chronic depression. A battery of cognitive tests ruled out dementia, which eased Elaine's brain but fueled concern that the persistent sadness and apathy characteristic of her might rob her of her ability to recall even easy details.
Inattention is an element
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 21 million American adults — about 8% — have experienced at the very least one episode of depression, and girls are twice as prone to develop the condition as men. is
Most people associate depression with its distinguished symptoms, which include not only sadness and apathy, but in addition lack of enjoyment in things that used to bring happiness, changes in appetite, and trouble sleeping. Yet memory also often suffers, with research suggesting that having depression increases an individual's risk of memory problems. Depressive symptoms may speed up memory loss in older people, in response to a study of 8,200 adults published online June 11, 2024. JAMA Network Open..
Dr. Budson explains that memory impairments in individuals with depression are a byproduct of an overactive brain. “I think of them more as attention deficits than memory deficits,” he says. “If someone has depression, there's always something on their mind that's preventing them from focusing their full attention on where they are and what they're doing.”
In fact, just getting through the day can feel exhausting if you're depressed. But a scarcity of energy and focus is simply one contributor to memory problems brought on by depression, Dr. Budson says. Depression can be thought to change levels of brain chemicals that help us focus, comparable to dopamine and norepinephrine. Memory problems may also stem from other depression-related changes within the brain which are involved in forming, consolidating, and recalling memories.
How dementia is different
Importantly, nevertheless, memory problems in depression appear quite otherwise from Alzheimer's and other types of dementia.
Someone who's depressed, for instance, has trouble retrieving long-ago memories — comparable to the camping trip his family took when he was 8 years old — that By keeping what he had for breakfast within the morning. An individual with dementia, however, can normally easily recall memories from several years ago, but cannot remember where they went yesterday.
This is because dementia damages the hippocampus, a brain structure that helps us learn recent information and retrieve recent memories. We don't need the hippocampus to retrieve old memories, nevertheless, which is why individuals with Alzheimer's have less trouble remembering their childhood or early maturity.
“People with Alzheimer's can remember very well things that happened 20, 30 and 50 years ago, at least in the early stages of the disease, but they have a lot of trouble remembering things that happened this morning or yesterday. Or last week.” Dr. Budson. “The pattern is almost exactly the opposite of what you see in depression,” he says.
Positive memories fade first.
Another interesting difference to depression-related memory problems is how mood disorders don't goal all memories in the identical way. Often, the primary to fade are memories of happier times – just when this sort of boost could be especially welcome. Why? Again, brain biology is the perpetrator: the regions that process positive or rewarding experiences are disrupted in individuals with depression.
Dr. Budson explains that many, if not most, memories are context dependent. For example: visit the town where you grew up or your old highschool, and “suddenly you'll be able to relive memories you didn't even know you had.” The pass continues to be available.”
But this sort of context-dependent memory retrieval doesn't just involve places—it's also relevant to mood. “When you're feeling happy, you're more likely to easily access memories of other times when you were feeling happy,” he explains. “And when you're depressed, it's easy to retrieve memories of other times when you were feeling depressed, but harder to retrieve those when you were feeling happy.”
This unlucky trend could make recovery from depression harder, making a vicious cycle. “It's hard to remember those happy times — and that you can be happy again,” says Dr. Budson. “I don't know if it makes the depression worse, but it makes it harder to get out of.”
Proactive measures
Dr. Budson offers these strategies to scale back your risk of depression and protect your memory when you suffer from a mood disorder:
Get your heart pumping. Regular aerobic exercise, comparable to brisk walking, biking, or swimming, not only produces feel-good endorphins, but in addition increases growth aspects within the brain that help generate recent cells within the hippocampus.
Be socially engaged. Spending time with family and friends and interesting in social activities cannot only prevent depression, but in addition help alleviate it. “It's extremely helpful to be around people who like you and who like you,” he says.
Plan around your motivations. Hard experience could have taught you that certain people, places, or events can trigger your depression again. Avoid these situations as much as possible, and consider alternative actions during completely happy moments, when you've got the mental bandwidth to plan ahead.
Put your “people pleasers” on speed dial. Many of us have someone special—perhaps a friend, relative, or religious counselor—who can lift our spirits on the darkest days. Reach out to this person when you end up in an emotional bind. To show you how to do that, add reminders to your phone or calendar.
Log your favorite memories. Knowing that it's normal to have trouble recalling completely happy memories if you're depressed, post a written list of a few of your favorites on a bulletin board or refrigerator. “Read the list when you're feeling blue,” says Dr. Budson. “It just might make you smile.”
The Dark Side of a Common Infection: Could It Trigger Alzheimer's?to be affected by Helicobacter pyloriA gut microbe present in an estimated two-thirds of the world's population could also be linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease in adults 50 and older, a recent study suggests. transferred from one person to a different, H pylori is commonly harmless. But it might cause indigestion, ulcers, and (in rare cases) stomach cancer. Alzheimer's may join the list, in response to the study, which was published within the March 2024 issue of Alzheimer's and Dementia. Researchers analyzed the medical records of greater than 4.2 million people aged 50 and over within the UK spanning nearly three a long time. None of the participants had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's initially of the study. People with symptoms H pylori The study found that infections were 11 percent more prone to develop Alzheimer's disease during a median follow-up period of 11 years. How can infections be linked to Alzheimer's? Dr Budson says research is increasingly showing that beta-amyloid – a variety of protein involved within the brain plaques related to Alzheimer's – normally accumulates within the brain to assist it fight infection. But some people, on account of genetics or other aspects, are unable to flush the protein out of the brain after the danger has passed. “We all make a little bit of amyloid during the day, and when we sleep at night, it's gone,” he says. “That's why it's important to get a good night's sleep. But throughout life, people sometimes build up too much amyloid or have trouble clearing it. When it builds up too much, that's what causes Alzheimer's. causes.” |
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