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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A common brain imaging technology is unlocking the connection between depression and pain.
Statistics show more than 75 percent of patients with depression deal with recurring or chronic pain. Additionally, between 30 percent and 60 percent of patients with chronic pain report some symptoms of depression.
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To further understand these connections, researchers from the University of California San Diego studied 30 young adults; half suffered from a major depressive disorder, while the other half did not. Researchers scanned the subjects brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they were exposed to a thermal device heated to painful levels (about 115 degrees Fahrenheit) and non-painful levels.
Results showed the patients with depression displayed increased brain activity in the right amygdala during the painful experience.
Significant positive correlations were observed in the major depressive disorder group between greater helplessness scores and greater activity in the right amygdala during the anticipation of pain, the authors write.
SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, 2008;65:1275-1284
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