New research published today in JAMA Psychiatry shows for the first time that patients with mood and anxiety disorders share the same abnormalities in regions of the brain involved in emotional and cognitive control.
New research published today in JAMA Psychiatry shows for the first time that patients with mood and anxiety disorders share the same abnormalities in regions of the brain involved in emotional and cognitive control.
The findings hold promise for the development of new treatments targeting these regions of the brain in patients with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders.
“These brain imaging findings provide a science-based explanation as to why patients with mood and anxiety disorders seem to be ‘locked in’ to negative mood states,” said Dr. Sophia Frangou, the study’s senior author and a psychiatry professor at UBC. “They also corroborate the patients’ experience of being unable to stop and switch away from negative thoughts and feelings.”
Mood and anxiety disorders account for nearly 65 per cent of psychosocial disability worldwide and represent a major public health challenge. In Canada, one in three — or approximately 9.1 million people — will be affected by mental illness during their lifetime, according to Statistics Canada. The defining symptoms of these disorders are persistent or recurring negative feelings, mainly depression and anxiety.
Read more at University of British Columbia
Photo: Dr. Sophia Frangou. Credit: Paul Joseph/UBC
