What does sadness look like in the brain?
It's also unclear if the bad mood causes increased chitchat in these regions, or if increased chitchat causes the bad mood.
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Feelings of sadness or anxiety might be linked to increased "chitchat" between two areas of the brain, a new study suggests.
In the study, published today (Nov. 8) in the journal Cell, a group of researchers listened in on electrical conversations in the brain — in other words, the signals that brain regions send to one another. When a person is feeling down, they found, the communication increased between brain cells in two specific regions of the brain involved in memory and emotion.
It's unclear whether this increased brain communication is a cause or an effect of a bad mood, the researchers noted. However, the findings allowed them to home in on the part of the brain where the action is. [5 Ways Your Emotions Influence Your World (and Vice Versa)]
What is clear, however, is that anxiety, depression and mood have physical manifestations in the brain. "For many patients, it is very important to know that when they are feeling depressed, it is due to something measurable and concrete within their brain," said co-senior study author Dr. Vikaas Sohal, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. "For some patients, this can provide important validation and remove stigma, empowering them to seek appropriate treatment."
The researchers carried out the study using a technique called intracranial electroencephalography (EEG). As the word "intracranial" implies, the method involves implanting electrodes or wires inside the skull — in and on the brain. These implanted electrodes record the electrical activity of brain cells (in other words, record their communication).
