The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time

by Alex Korb

Just fifteen minutes of biking is sufficient to increase activity in circuits responsible for emotional control and to raise levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin.2

People often think depression is just being sad all the time, but it’s far more than that. In fact, people with depression do not necessarily feel sad—they often feel numb, like an emptiness where emotion should be. Hopeless and helpless. Things that used to be enjoyable aren’t fun anymore: food, friends, hobbies. Energy plummets. Everything feels difficult, and it’s hard to explain why, because it shouldn’t be. Nothing seems worth the effort it requires. It’s hard to fall asleep and to stay asleep. Aches and pains are felt more deeply. It’s hard to concentrate, and you feel anxious, ashamed, and alone.

in Parkinson’s disease, we can point to the death of certain dopamine neurons. In Alzheimer’s, we can point to specific proteins.

Whereas most diseases are defined by their cause (for example, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver), the disorder of depression is currently defined by a collection of symptoms.

And if you’ve got enough symptoms, you’re diagnosed with depression. There’s no lab test, no MRI scan; it’s just the symptoms.

exercise, sunlight, specific sleep patterns, certain muscle movements, and even gratitude all alter activity in specific neural circuits, reversing the course of depression.

In depression, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the brain. It’s simply that the particular tuning of the neural circuits creates the tendency toward a pattern of depression.

By changing the firing rate of neurons in a few key regions, you can influence the pattern of activity in the entire brain.

Serotonin—improves willpower, motivation, and mood

Norepinephrine—enhances thinking, focus, and dealing with stress

Oxytocin—promotes feelings of trust, love, and connection, and reduces anxiety

Endorphins—provide pain relief

Try to think of one happy memory before you go to sleep—write it in a journal or just reflect on it.