AFFECTS OF DEPRESSION 1

Why is Depression Such a Prevalent Issue in North America Society Today?

Arissa A. Walters

BioChem Inquiry 11

December 9, 2022

Earl Marriott Secondary

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Why is Depression Such a Prevalent Issue in North America Society Today?

Depression has gradually become more relevant in today’s society. In early B.C.E.,

mainly Christians believed that depression was thought to be a spiritual matter, caused by

demonic possession. Physicians overlooked depression for quite some time, as it was dealt with

by priests. This belief still exists in some cultures today. Now, in the 21st century depression is

taken more seriously as it can cause many negative health effects and more research has been

done. Depression can be described by feelings of unhappiness, insignificance, remorse,

powerlessness, and despair. There are different kinds of depression, for example, major

depression, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), perinatal depression, seasonal affective

disorder, and depression with symptoms of psychosis. Other mental health disorders can

experience depressive episodes, for instance, bipolar disorder. Some known causes of depression

include but are not limited to, chemical imbalances found in the brain, hormone levels in females

and males, family history, trauma, medical conditions, different neurotransmitters, dieting, and

substance use. It is oftentimes said that depression resides in a chemical imbalance. Research

displays that depression develops because a person has too much or too little of certain brain

chemicals like dopamine or serotonin, rather, there are many probable causes of depression,

including mood dysregulation in the brain, genetic susceptibility, and stressful life events. Some

of these causes can make an individual more susceptible to developing depression. This research
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paper will examine some of the different effects of depression by responding to the following

questions:

1. What are some of the causes of depression?

2. How does the imbalance of different neurotransmitters affect depression?

3. Why are some parts of the brain smaller or bigger in individuals with depression and

what effects does it have?

What are some of the causes of depression?

To understand what causes depression, there must be an understanding of what it is.

Depression is a disorder, and it is more than feeling sad or mourning. It is a serious disorder, and

it requires medical care. Depression is a mood disorder that causes continual sadness and loss of

enthusiasm. It is also known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression. It alters

feelings, thoughts, and behavior, and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.

Some of the other symptoms of depression are, angry outbursts or irritability over small things,

loss of interests, insomnia or sleeping too much, tiredness or lack of energy, reduced or increased

appetite, anxiety, agitation, or restlessness, slowed thinking, feelings of worthlessness, recurrent

thoughts of death, or suicidal thoughts, and unexplained physical problems (Mayo Clinic, 2014).

Severe depression when left untreated can cause a serious strain on the individuals’ mental

health, which can lead to their physical health being affected.

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One simple cause of depression is genetics. Every part of the human body, including your

brain, is controlled by genes. Depression running in the family can give you a genetic

predisposition to end up with it. Even if a simple gene gets altered, it can modify your biology in

a way that consequences in your mood becoming unstable. Scientists usually look at identical

twins vs fraternal twins to help figure out if depression can have genetic factors. Each person

inherits a unique combination of genes from their mother or father, and certain combinations can

predispose them to a particular illness (Levinson, et al. n.d.). The study shows that the

heritability of major depression was estimated to be 38% (Table 1). Across other studies, they

noticed a similar percentage which was reassuring to them (Kendler, et al. 2006).
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Tables

Table 1

Correlation Between Twins for Liability to Lifetime Major Depression

Sex and Zygosity Number of Complete Tetrachoric 95% Cl

Twin Pairs Correlation
Female-female, monozygotic 2, 317 0.44 0.38-0.50
Female-female, dizygotic 3, 185 0.16 0.10-0.22
Male-male, monozygotic 1, 774 0.31 0.20-0.41
Male-male, dizigotic 2, 584 0.11 0.01-0.20
Male-femal, dizygotic 5, 633 0.11 0.05-0.16
Note: These data were collected as part of the Screening Across the Lifespan Twin study,

based on the Swedish Twin Registry (12), which is formed from a nearly complete registration of

all twin births in the country. Data collection was performed with a computer-assisted telephone

interview, the purpose of which was to screen all twins regardless of their previous participation

in activities of the Swedish Twin Registry or the vital status of their twin partner. Efforts were

made to interview members of a pair within a month of each other. The most recent information

on last name and address was linked to the telephone company’s files to obtain telephone

numbers. Introductory letters describing the study were sent to a random sample of

approximately 1,000 twin pairs each month. All screening data were collected over the telephone

by trained interviewers (with an adequate medical background) using a computer-based data

collection system.

Neurotransmitters occur naturally in the brain and can play a large role in depression. The

function of the neurotransmitters involves mood stability and plays a significant role in

depression and its treatment. Depression has been linked to problems or imbalances in the brain
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regarding the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Specifically, serotonin

can cause depression as it regulates important physiological functions such as sleep, aggression,

eating, and mood. A decrease in the production of serotonin by these neurons may possibly

contribute to depression and can make people feel suicidal.

Changes to the body’s hormones may be involved in triggering or causing depression. It

can happen during, before, or after delivery. Research suggests that approximately 7% of

pregnant women can experience depression during pregnancy (Mayo Clinic, 2022). Depression

during pregnancy often goes unnoticed because while a woman is pregnant most people are

focused on her physical health, not so much mental health. It is important to be aware of this

because you risk postpartum (after delivery) depression and difficulty bonding with your baby.

When individuals encounter trauma at an early age it can cause changes in how their

brain responds to fear and stress, this can tie into life circumstances. Even things like marital

status can trigger underlying depression or depression in general. Trauma may seem like more of

a psychological event but it does in fact have to do with science. If a child encountered a dog and

it bit them they would carry that trauma with them, being afraid of dogs, oftentimes for their

whole life. At that young age your hippocampus, which is what translates your short-term

memories to long term, is processing them. This is the same for any other childhood trauma.

Negele et al. (2015), showed that for men and women suffering from sexual abuse, the risk of

developing depression was 1.8 times higher.

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People that have a history of medical conditions like chronic pain, anxiety, and ADHD

are more likely to develop depression. Medications that are meant to help with a medical

condition often come with side effects, depression being very prevalent. Many different

medications come with side effects like depression, including Isotretinoin (treats severe acne),

alcohol, anticonvulsants (controls epileptic seizures), barbiturates (controls anxiety),

benzodiazepines (treat insomnia), beta-adrenergic blockers (treatment of heart problems, and so

many more.

How does the imbalance of different neurotransmitters affect depression?

Alterations in the peripheral serotonin and imbalanced immune system have been

reported in patients with depression. Peripheral serotonin Cytokines and T regulatory cells play

an important role in the development of depression. The main neurotransmitter that has been

found to be affected in people with depression is serotonin (5-HT). Recently a study found that it

isn’t. Scientists now believe that biological factors, psychological factors, and environmental

factors play a role, as explained in the above question. The main antidepressants that individuals

with depression take are serotonin uptake inhibitors and they increase the availability of

serotonin in the brain.

Moncrieff et al. (2022), looked at 17 studies that examined serotonin and depression. The

studies looked at stuff like molecules in the cerebral fluid that serotonin breaks down into, the

levels of serotonin receptors and how they are, and a few others. They found that there was no
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evidence of low serotonin activity, and they assume that it could be a placebo effect. Other

experts say that the analysis didn’t differentiate between episodes of depression and ongoing

depression which can affect their serotonin systems.

Researchers have also realized that just because a medication that increases serotonin

levels is used and can help with symptoms, that does not mean it is the source of the problem.

Few tests can show the serotonin levels only in the brain which can cause complications if the

researcher is trying to figure it out.

Why are some parts of the brain smaller or bigger in individuals with depression
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Areas in the brain that play a significant role in depression are the amygdala, the thalamus, and

the hippocampus. Research shows that the hippocampus is smaller in some individuals with

depression. Investigators studied 24 women that had depression (Neuroscience Journal, 2019).

The hippocampus was 9% to 13% smaller if the women had depression in contrast to those

without. The activity in the amygdala is higher when a person has anxiety, fear, sorrow, and

many other emotions. This can cause the amygdala to enlarge when a person is sad or clinically

depressed (Harvard, 2022). Studies of adults suffering from anxiety disorders have shown that

they also possess enlarged, highly connected amygdalae (Bergland, 2013). The hippocampus

plays an important part in processing long-term memories. Some depressed people have a

smaller hippocampus, and exploration shows that prolonged exposure to stress hormones impairs

the growth of neurons in this part of the brain (Harvard, 2022).

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Espinoza et al. (2020) examined the different parts of the brain to see what the difference

in size was. (See figure 1). They used 112 studies and assessed 4911 healthy people and 5934

people with depression. In several episodes of depression and late-onset depression, volume

effects were more pronounced. The strongest effects were in the hippocampus (6.8%, p 0.001),

although adults with depression and no comorbidities also showed considerably reduced volumes

in the putamen, pallidum, and thalamus as well as significantly lower grey matter volume and

intracranial volume. The amygdala had considerably greater sizes in those who also had anxiety

and depression (3.6%, p 0.001). Comorbid anxiety reduced the impact of depression by 3% on

average. Intracranial volume reductions were moderated by sex.

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Volumetric differences in depression

0
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

Figure 1. The percent difference between volumes of healthy controls and participants with depression

per brain region in depression (left, grey), and the effects without comorbid anxiety (middle, black) and

with comorbid anxiety (right, light grey). Positive values represent greater volumes in healthy controls,

and negative values represent greater volume in participants with depression. Error bars represent 95%

confidence intervals. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05. GMV = grey matter volume; IVC =

intracranial volume; LAV = left amygdala volume; LCV = left caudate volume; LHcV = left hippocampus

volume; LPaV = left pallidum volume; LPuV = left putamen volume; LTV = left thalamus volume; RAV

= right amygdala volume; RCV = right caudate volume; RHcV = right hippocampus volume; RPaV =

right pallidum volume; RPuV = right putamen volume; RTV = right thalamus volume; TAcV = total

accumbens volume; TAV = total amygdala volume; TBV = total brain volume; TCV = total caudate

volume; THcV = total hippocampus volume; TPaV = total pallidum volume; TPuV = total putamen

volume; TTV = total thalamus volume; WMV = white matter volume.

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No moderator could explain the high heterogeneity in hippocampal effects. Data on symptom

intensity and medication were lacking, but other factors are likely to have played a role. Comorbid

anxiety, chronicity of symptoms, and beginning of disease all altered depression-related changes in brain

structure. Given the consequences in the hippocampus, early diagnosis of anxiety symptomatology will be

critical to providing effective, targeted treatments for improving long-term mental health and minimizing

cognitive difficulties.
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Harvard, (2022). Depression: Chemicals and communication. From

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Bergland, C. (2013). The Size and Connectivity of the Amygdala Predicts Anxiety. From

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