Why does stress make you unhappy?

A new study, conducted by Ronald Duman of Yale University, found that stress actually stirs your mind. In addition, chronic stress can cause many changes in the brain, blocking a gene called Neuritin, which protects the brain mass against a variety of diseases.

The survey results provide insight into the mechanisms behind depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorders, and may offer researchers a new target in the search for medications and treatments.

Postmortem studies and brain scans have revealed that the hippocampus, the brain's memory center, can shrink and atrophy in people with a history of depression and other mood disorders. Patients with these characteristics also tend to have lower levels of BDNF, a growth factor that keeps neurons healthy.

Neuritin: the new target

According to Ronald Durman, understanding the true role of neuritin may play an important role hitherto overlooked by scientists. Preliminary studies with a group of mice showed that all rodents had low levels of neuritin.

To further force the results, the researchers blocked neuritin production in rats, and even those that had not been subjected to stressful conditions exhibited symptoms of depression and tiredness.

"This is a large study that reveals another layer in the biology of depression and antidepressants, " explains John Neumaier, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at the University of Washington. "This discovery opens a new therapeutic target, " he concludes.

Source: ScienceMag