Depression is a feeling of despair that saps joy and energy from life. Depression is linked to chemical and physical changes in the brain that impact mood and cognitive ability. Depression may also be linked to traumatic events or life changes. Depression impacts the mind and cognitive abilities in many ways. Also, the ability to function and think normally during daily duties may be compromised due to depression. A patient with depression may find her brain function is dimmed by her bleak mood and fuzzy thinking.
Chemical Deficits in Brain and Depression
Chemical deficits of norepinephrine or serotonin, a feel-good chemical in the brain, may lead to loss of cognitive function and also of hope. These chemical imbalances may lead to thoughts about suicide, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Brain chemistry is ever changing depending on food intake, possible occurrence of traumatic life events, and drug and alcohol use. Some patients have a chemical susceptibility to depression and thus also to cognitive disorders.
Memory and Decision-Making Problems
Depression is linked to cognitive problems such as difficulty remembering details and also an inability to make and stick to decisions, NIMH notes. This inability to retain needed information in the mind leads to ongoing annoyances and difficult situations.
Depression Depletes Optimism
Depression squelches optimism. Patients with depression have a mind troubled by negative thoughts. The mind's fuzzy cognitive skills makes a depressed patient unable to find a way to see hope.
Headaches and Depression
Headaches and difficulty concentrating are other cognitive signs of depression, NIMH reports. The pain from headaches may exacerbate depression and make it hard to function at cognitive tasks that require concentration.
Depression and Physical Changes To the Brain
A thinning of the brain in the right hemisphere is linked to depression, according to a report at the LiveScience website that was based on a study at Columbia University Medical Center. A thinner right hemisphere in the brain may impede function of memory and also limit cognitive ability to judge social cues. Also, thinning in the left hemisphere, when combined with the same in the right hemisphere, often then predicts development of depression.
