A treatment for Parkinson’s disease reveals a brain switch for sadness :
Pretty fascinating ..
For millennia, one of the world’s leading causes of death was infection. The body’s natural counter to infection includes a number of genetic mutations that rachet up the immune system. Researchers now know that one of those altered genes, known as NPY, is linked to major depression.
Why would the body need to leverage depression to fight off infection? In a 2012 study, Raison and Miller contended that symptoms of depression such as social withdrawal and apathy played to the advantage of ancient humans for two important reasons: Keeping still helped their bodies fight infection, and social isolation helped prevent the spread of contagious germs.
The mysteries of the brain and why we be come depressed.. So much more revolutionary medicine and studying to come ..
