Virtual Human Brain Model Provides Insights into Memory Retrieval During Depression

Study in a Sentence: Researchers created a computational model to simulate the brains of patients suffering from depression and showed that depressive episodes can impair both recent memory storage and retrieval by limiting the formation of new brain cells. In addition, it also showed that depressive episodes can erase past stored memories.  

Healthy for Humans: The study showed that the longer the duration of the depressive episode, the more memories were erased, which suggests that treating depression may help limit or prevent dementia onset later in life.

Redefining Research:  Unlike animals and other previous models, the new computational model allows researchers to study the effect of depression with variable times of onset and provided a link for how depression may drive dementia onset.