Mental exercises such as computer games could help people with depression protect their brains from negative emotional reactions, new research claims.
Researchers found that the brains of people who suffer the blues are more likely to be affected by bad memories than those without the mental health disorder.
Scans showed neurons trigger furiously in the ’emotional hub’ – an area known as the amygdala.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, suggest memory disturbance could help people protect their brain from negative emotions.
Researchers said people with depression tend to regulate their emotional responses using distractions
For the study, researchers used brain scans to examine emotional responses associated with negative memories.
They collected data from 29 depressed patients who were not taking any medication and 23 people with no history of depression.
The participants were asked to recall painful memories from a first-person perspective and ‘to allow their emotions to unfold naturally,’ researchers wrote.
Investigators found that those with the mental health disorder reported feeling worse when bringing bad memories to mind than their counterparts without the disorder.
Researchers found that the emotional responses were due to increased activity in the ’emotional hub’ of the brain, and its interaction with the hippocampus – a brain region important for memory.
When participants were asked to recall these memories as a ‘distant observer’ – focusing just on the facts – those with depression were able to tune down these increased negative emotions to normal levels by weakening a region of the hippocampus that is associated with recalling specific memory details.
‘When they were using this strategy, people with [major depressive disorder] showed a pattern of brain activity that was comparable to what was shown by the healthy controls, with one key difference – greater dampening of a region of posterior hippocampus that has been associated with recalling specific memory details,’ said lead author Dr Bruce Dore, who specializes in communication neuroscience.
These findings suggest depressed individuals could regulate their emotional responses to painful memories by making it harder to remember specific details of this experience.
‘This is generally consistent with a growing body of work suggesting people with [depression] are able to regulate their emotions when instructed to,’ Dr Dore said.
‘But they may tend towards doing so in an abnormal manner – such as being more likely to use problematic strategies like distraction and rumination in daily life,’ he added.
Previous studies have found distractions like video games can help train the brain to fight depression.
A 2017 study conducted by the University of Washington found that a game-based app called Project: EVO improved mood in older adults diagnosed with late-life depression.
Researcher published in a 2012 issue of PLOS One found that video games stimulate two regions of the brain: the hippocampus, which is associated with memory, and the part of the brain associated with motivation and goal orientation. This helps creates a sense of motivation.
However, studies have shown video games may also cause depression.
A 2014 study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking found an association between daily exposure to violent video games and number of depressive symptoms among preadolescent youth.
Depression is a common mental health disorder, affecting 300 million people worldwide, according to World Health Organization.
Symptoms of depression include the persistent feeling of sadness, suicidal thoughts and feeling worthless.
Researchers of the current study said their findings are consistent with the notion that people with depression could benefit from training that focuses on identifying and effectively using appropriate strategies for emotion regulation.