Being a college student, I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t hear about depression, anxiety or ADHD. All three of these disorders are so commonly spoken about because so many people have diagnoses in one or more of these mental disorders. After reading the research article, “Depression and Anxious Apprehension Distinguish Frontocingulate Cortical Activity During Top-Down Attentional Control,” from the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, I feel like I’ve been able to connect it to so many things in today’s world. The results in this study show that both depression and anxiety affect attention control through the frontocingulate network in the brain. Although depression and anxiety have overlapping symptoms, they work through different networks in the brain, yet both still inhibit attention in people with these disorders. Knowing this, we can conclude that depression and anxiety lead to a person having decreased attention control, which could result in symptoms similar to that of attention deficit disorder.
Because depression is also such a common topic in today’s society, many studies are being done to show how depression affects the daily lives of individuals suffering from the disease, as well as the people they surround themselves with. In the article from Science Daily, “Elementary teachers' depression symptoms related to students' learning,” researchers observed to see if there was a correlation between depression in teachers and their students’ classroom performance. They found that classrooms with depressed teachers had more students struggling academically. In addition to the teachers being in a depressed mood, the first article about frontocingulate network activity suggests that these teachers could also have decreased attention control. This could suggest why their students do poorly in class. If the teacher is incapable of paying attention to his/her students, in addition to being in a depressed mood, this could negatively affect the learning environment in the classroom. Considering all the research that’s being done on how depression affects the quality of life of a person, it’s shocking that certain medical insurance companies still don’t cover mental health. The amount of people with depression and ADHD is very high, especially because it is becoming more accepted to talk about. If something isn’t done to make mental health care more accessible to everyone, many people, including our children, will be living with a lowered quality of life.
Silton, R., Heller, W., Engels, A., Towers, D., Spielberg, J., Edgar, J., . . . Miller, G. (n.d.). Depression and anxious apprehension distinguish frontocingulate cortical activity during top-down attentional control. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 120(2), 272-285.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150211084106.htm
Because depression is also such a common topic in today’s society, many studies are being done to show how depression affects the daily lives of individuals suffering from the disease, as well as the people they surround themselves with. In the article from Science Daily, “Elementary teachers' depression symptoms related to students' learning,” researchers observed to see if there was a correlation between depression in teachers and their students’ classroom performance. They found that classrooms with depressed teachers had more students struggling academically. In addition to the teachers being in a depressed mood, the first article about frontocingulate network activity suggests that these teachers could also have decreased attention control. This could suggest why their students do poorly in class. If the teacher is incapable of paying attention to his/her students, in addition to being in a depressed mood, this could negatively affect the learning environment in the classroom. Considering all the research that’s being done on how depression affects the quality of life of a person, it’s shocking that certain medical insurance companies still don’t cover mental health. The amount of people with depression and ADHD is very high, especially because it is becoming more accepted to talk about. If something isn’t done to make mental health care more accessible to everyone, many people, including our children, will be living with a lowered quality of life.
Silton, R., Heller, W., Engels, A., Towers, D., Spielberg, J., Edgar, J., . . . Miller, G. (n.d.). Depression and anxious apprehension distinguish frontocingulate cortical activity during top-down attentional control. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 120(2), 272-285.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150211084106.htm
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