Why are you so quiet? I no longer see
you! You were never like this! These statements are continuous ring in the ears
of individuals suffering from depression. Depression that has been a hot topic
in the past couple of decades can be a good news for teens. Have you ever had a
friend that you used to spend majority of your time with and then suddenly you
see them inattentive during your regular activities or hiding in their room?
This sudden change in behavior and social withdrawal is usually the first sign that
we observe in individuals going through depression. Recent article published in
New York Times revealed the data collected by the Center of Disease Control in
2013 showing that 30 percent of teenagers that felt sad or hopeless for almost every
day for 2 or more weeks in a row, out of which 17 percent considered attempting
suicide. This rising diagnosis of depression in our youth has attracted the
interest of many scientist to further look into the biological and psychological
aspects of the disease.
Depression
can be triggered by a variety factors that include: heredity, environmental
factors, social relations or even crisis. Despite the trigger, one common
sign/symptom that is evident in every patient is their lack of ability to focus
on tasks, remembering details and making decisions. As a result Silton et el
decided to explore the neuronal basis and pathways involved in attention and
its malfunction in those who are depressed. In their research published in
2011, titled Depression and anxious
apprehension distinguish frontocingulate cortical activity during top-down
attentional control, the team looked into the neural pathway from the left
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex
(dACC) that has been identified in the top-down attentional control. In the
study 100 participants were required to take the Stoop Interference task under
the functional MRI and the brain potential of the two regions, LDFLPFC and dACC
were measured using an Electroencephalogram. Dorsolateral Prefrontal cortex is
region in the brain that serves as a storage for short term working memory
while the anterior cingulate cortex is involved in conflict detection. Silton
et el discovered that in high level of depression there is very little relation
between the LDFLPFC and dACC meaning that increased LDFLPFC lead to better
performance on the Stroop Interference, however in low levels of depression both
LDFLPFC and dACC indicated a direct relationship with Stroop Interference
meaning worse performance. The early high activity in the LDFLPFC and later
high activity indicates poor top down attentional performance indicating that
depressed individuals struggle with concentrating.
Would you
describe watching television while surfing though your internet browser on your
laptop at the same time as a sign of being depressed? A study conducted by Mark
Becker and his team at Michigan State University recently indicated close ties
between individuals who are depressed and their multitasking media usage. A
survey of 319 and their media use and mental health in which it was reported
that “depressed or anxious people are turning to media multitasking that might
actually help them deal with their problems. It could also serve as a warning
sign that a youngster is becoming depressed or anxious.” To investigate the impact of multitasking and
attention deficit Brandon Ralph and his team at University of Waterloo set out
an online study questionnaire where participants that included the media multitasking
index and Media multitasking beliefs questionnaire (MMBQ). In this self-questionnaire
study the researchers discovered positive correlation between multi-media
tasking and attention deficit. The research further found “…we found no
evidence of a significant relation between media multitasking and perceived
ability to switch attention between tasks and, although we found an association
between media multitasking and attention to internal distractions (i.e.,
off-task thoughts), and no association between media multitasking and feelings
of distractibility with regard to environmental, or external, stimuli.”
Compiling
the research conducted by Silton et el, Becker et el and finally Brandon Ralph
and his team, we can connected the neural activity and the attention deficit
that exist in depressed patients. Through media-multitasking the patients
withdraw from their social interactions. During multi-media tasking the
activity of the dACC is disrupted/out of sync in relation to LDFLPFC which
lower the top-down attention control. Consequently, media-multitasking serves
as way for these individuals to hide themselves and shift their attention
focus, since media-multi tasking does not interfere with the attention switching
process from one task to another task, however it does refrain them from focusing
on their specific task. This task or focus maybe on their thoughts and internal
conflicts that they may try to avoid, thus further weakening their productivity
and social interactions. Whether media-multi tasking serves as treatment or a
sign/symptom of depression is highly questionable as further research needs to
be conducted.
Reference:
-Depression and anxious apprehension distinguish
frontocingulate cortical activity during
top-down
attentional control. Silton, Rebecca Levin; Heller, Wendy; Engels, Anna S.;
Towers, David
N.; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; Edgar, J. Christopher; Sass, Sarah M.;
Stewart,
Jennifer L.; Sutton, Bradley P.; Banich, Marie T.; Miller, Gregory A. Journal
of
Abnormal Psychology, Vol 120(2), May 2011, 272-285.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0023204
-Michigan State University. "Multiple media use tied to
depression, anxiety." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 4
December 2012.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121204145557.htm>.
- Ralph, Brandon, David Thomson, James Cheyne, and Daniel
Smilek. "Media Multitasking
and Failures of
Attention in Everyday Life." Psychological Research An International
Journal of
Perception, Attention, Memory, and Action (2013). Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
<http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-013-0523-7/fulltext.html>.
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