Understanding depression

30% of people suffering from depression are resistant to antidepressants. Why?

With her team, Mariana Alonso, a researcher in the Perception and Action Unit and head of the Emotional Circuits team at the Institut Pasteur, has identified a key mechanism involved in this disorder. During a depressive episode, the amygdala, a region of the brain that processes emotions, functions differently:

• Less activity in the face of positive stimuli
• Over-activation in the face of negative stimuli

The result: a skewed perception of reality, a “negativity bias” that locks the person into a darker view of the world.

These discoveries open the way to new, targeted treatments capable of repairing these neural circuits and helping the millions of people affected.

(video in french, English subtitles available)