If you’ve ever gotten a concussion before—maybe during sports or even a car crash—you know it can be an incredibly disorienting experience. You might be dazed, feel nauseous, and even lose your memory temporarily. Luckily, there’s a good chance you’ll recover in just a few days or weeks. However, a significant amount of people don’t—suffering from long-lasting and unseen symptoms for the rest of their lives.
The authors found that, while the location of the brain circuit that causes depression were the same between the TBI depression group and the non-TBI depression group, connectivity with this circuit was increased with those who suffered from an injury. The difference was so distinct that the researchers even proposed a new name for the malady: TBI affective syndrome.
The authors are already using this method of brain mapping in order to help personalize new treatments for patients. These treatments include the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation, which is essentially zapping the brain with large magnets. This process has been shown to greatly improve depressive symptoms in past research.