Brain Plasticity Treatment for Depression

Brain plasticity, the brain's ability to change and grow as it learns new skills and faces new challenges, has been shown to improve many symptoms of depression.

Brain Plasticity, Depression and Stress

• Research on brain plasticity and depression has mostly centered around reactions to stress. This research suggests that developing new neural pathways in reaction to a stressful situation can improve depression.

Mindfulness Over Stress

• Mindfulness, a form of meditation that improves a person's awareness and control over thoughts and emotions, has been shown to improve depression. Brain elasticity improves as you "stretch" your brain to deal with stress in new and positive ways.

Brain Plasticity, Brain Injury and Physical Functioning

• Depression can be brought on by the loss of normal physical functioning through a brain injury, such as a stroke. Studies have shown that brain plasticity can improve injury-related depression as the brain forms new connections to help the body function in a different way.

You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

• The human brain has the ability to grow and change throughout our lifetime. Depression in the elderly is often due to a loss of cognitive functioning. Improving brain plasticity by learning new skills can slow the loss of this functioning.

Antidepressants and Brain Plasticity

• Antidepressants can stimulate the first stages of brain cell regeneration, or brain plasticity. Researchers continue to search for links between antidepressants and brain cell regeneration.