In 1890 William James defined the term ‘Plasticity’ as, “The possession of a structure weak enough to yield to an influence, but strong enough not to yield all at once.” As with all things in life, plasticity is something we need our brains to have, but in moderation. Plasticity enables us to learn new skills…
Depression affects many people and it can be debilitating. That said, plenty of us are oblivious to the feelings of sadness that we have – which can sometimes be dismissed as “nothing.” Some of us refuse to believe or accept what we may be going through. Unfortunately, denial does not help or cure depression. If…
Depression tends to affect the way that you see life. Depression can influence many parts of your life including your employment status, physical health, relationships and even your self-confidence. Now that you’ve started your depression treatment, however, you may be feeling more like getting back to ‘you’ and enjoying the things that you once did.…
You may be feeling quite helpless if your spouse is suffering from depression. There will be days when you feel overwhelmed, frustrated and confused, and no matter what you try and do to help your partner, you may feel rejected or worse still, ignored. Fear not, you are not alone. Depression is an illness which…
Depressive Moods It’s not unusual to hear terms such as low mood, depressive mood and depression linked together. However, when we refer to depressive mood and major depression, we are talking about two completely different conditions. The differences between a depressive mood and major depression are: A depressive mood can include: Tiredness Feelings of sadness…
The brain is an exceedingly complex organism. So complex, in fact, that despite centuries of Scientists and Philosophers devoting their lives to studying it, we still do not fully understand how it develops, functions, or degenerates. We do know, however, that all behavior, voluntary or involuntary, functional or dysfunctional manifests from activity across the complex…
Before my first blog entry I wanted to introduce myself. I am Lindsay Oberman. I am a Clinical Researcher. For the past 20 years, I have been studying the brain mechanisms that underlie the core and associated symptoms of Neuropsychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. I started on my journey as an undergraduate student at Emory University,…
Depression is a disorder which results in feelings of extreme sadness, low motivation and a loss of interest in doing those things that were once enjoyed. We can all feel sad at times- like when we lose a loved one, face stress or experience a major life-changing situation. In a normal situation these feelings of…
Why does someone decide to take their own life? Suicide is a difficult and complex matter and there’s not always one reason why somebody decides to end their life. Quite often it is related to problems that have built up and the suicidal person can no longer see any other way out of their situation.…
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a much needed treatment for patients with major depressive disorder who are treatment resistant. How does it work? What are some possible explanations of its action in the brain? How does it affect the treatment of depression? TMS is a noninvasive technique that uses magnetic fields to induce weak electric…