Comment by [deleted] on 27/02/2021 at 19:36 UTC

4 upvotes, 3 direct replies (showing 3)

View submission: Can years long chronic depression IRREVERSIBLY "damage" the brain/ reduce or eliminate the ability to viscerally feel emotions?

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Comment by [deleted] at 27/02/2021 at 20:11 UTC

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Comment by [deleted] at 27/02/2021 at 19:44 UTC

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Comment by shiftyeyedgoat at 27/02/2021 at 20:17 UTC

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I’ll be definitive as the science allows. With appropriate treatment to which the depressed patient responds, yes, certain types of atrophy can be “reversed” and whole brian volume can increase[1]:

1: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22394416/

Conclusions: Given that remitters exhibited a mean increase in brain volume while nonremitters lost volume, pharmacotherapy in the absence of sustained remission is most likely insufficient to elicit brain-volume increase in MDD. The findings suggest that clinical remission rather than pharmacotherapy may be the key factor involved in driving volumetric recovery in treatment-resistant depression.