Mood disorders and the problem of regulation When we talk about mood disorders, we typically describe them using emotional terms. Perhaps unsurprisingly, phrases such as anxiety, irritability, loss of interest, low mood, or emotional numbness tend to dominate conversation. For many people, however, these labels feel incomplete and only reflect part of the story. What…
For decades, neuroscience has shown that depression isn’t just a disorder of mood. Depression is also a disorder of brain structure and function. In particular, we know that depression can lead to shrinkage of the hippocampi in your brain. That’s a concerning piece of information. In fact, this is not a new finding. We have…
Bioelectric Neuromodulation: Vagal Nerve Stimulation Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is a form of bioelectric neuromodulation, a way of stimulating the brain to regulate neurophysiology. We’re getting rewarding results using vagal nerve stimulation across a range of conditions, including major depressive disorder. The idea has been around for some decades. In 2005 the FDA approved the…
A powerful piece of medical dogma is the notion that depression has genetic roots. This is the idea that if your mother suffered from depression, then the chances are that you will too. A closedly associated notion is the “chemical imbalance” in the brain idea. This is the claim that depressed patients do not have…
