Running Head: DEPRESSION 1 DEPRESSION 3 Lana Eliot Depression Psychology 630 Professor Benton August 25, 2018 Many people throughout the world experience some type of depression in their lives and it is one of the most common mental disorders. The current statistic show that depression is linked to genetic, environmental, biological and is also psychological. Depression can ben found with any age person. A small child or an adult may have to deal with the depression that is affecting them. Chemical imbalances in the brain is the leading cause for a person dealing with the depressive order. The neurotransmitter is the what we call the communicator between the brain and the limbic system. Researchers study the limbic system in the brain as this is where depression starts; especially for anxiety and stress. The 3 major neurotransmitters; serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine all have direct relations with a persons’ depression and anxiety. Serotonin plays a crucial role in our brain. It is associated with many physical actions that we may portray. The actions associated with serotonin are mood altering, sleeping patterns, eating disorders, and aggression. If a persons’ serotonin levels decrease, they may experience these depressive symptoms. This can also make persons have a feeling of self-worth and suicidal feelings. Another transmitter in the brain which is associated with the depressive disorder is dopamine. This is the part of the brain that deals with our motivation and how we gain the feeling of self-worth and self-pleasure. Early studies suggested that an existence of neurotransmitter norepinephrine deficiency in some certain areas of the brain resulted in depression. One main cause of depression is the reduction in the concentration of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine. The decrease in the concentration of these neurotransmitters leads to disturbed neuronal signal processing which leads to alterations in the structure of the neuronal networks. These basic changes are accepted to be one of the fundamental purposes behind sorrow. The emergence of neuroimaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and functional fMRI, established the importance of the ‘neurocircuit of emotion’ which has been expanded to include other important brain areas and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These brain sites and their connections, which have been widely studied, are responsible for maintaining emotional stability and their malfunction is considered central to the pathophysiology of depression (Palazidou, E., 2012). Recent follow up studies also shows that there is a group of individuals with a depression disorder who exhibit low levels of the chemical norepinephrine. In autopsy studies, it has been shown that in comparison,.