Scientists Discover Depression's Physical Source, Believe It Can Lead To Potential Treatment Advances

For the longest time, it has been a common mistake among numerous people to think that depression is merely an emotional matter that has nothing to do with the physical aspect of health. But just recently, scientists have discovered depression's physical source and they believe it can eventually result in potential treatment advances.

According to UPI, depression is among the most common mental illnesses in the world. During the research, scientists traced the ailment to the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, which is the area in the brain responsible for a non-reward mechanism. Researchers suggest that this is a possible reason why depressed people feel disappointment and a sense of loss as well as low self-esteem. Also, they say the medial orbitofrontal cortex and memory systems have links to depression, which may be the reason why people suffering from the illness struggle to account for happy memories.

According to Science Daily, the discoveries about depression's physical source could result in a breakthrough in potential treatment advances. This is because experts could go to the ailment's root cause and help sufferers focus their minds on the right things.

Fudan University in China and University of Warwick in England investigators were part of the research team. They studied the brain scans of nearly 1,000 respondents from China. They used high-precision MRI and observed connection changes between the lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex.

Professor Jianfeng Feng from Warwick said over one in ten people suffer from depression in their lifetime. He added that the illness is very common in the modern society that Prozac remains can be found in London's tap water. Prozac is a depression drug.

The discoveries about depression's physical source are indeed promising. Once the potential treatment advances become a reality, numerous people around the world will benefit from them. The journal Brain published the results of the study.