Neither the article nor the original paper spell this out explicitly, but I assume the link to depression has as much to do with the way the salience network expansion comes at the expense of other networks (like the cingulo-opercular and frontoparietal) as with the salience network itself. Like, you have a heightened awareness of what’s happening around you, but a reduced sense of agency or ability to react.
Well fuck.
Like, you have a heightened awareness of what’s happening around you, but a reduced sense of agency or ability to react.
Holy shit this is exactly how I feel a lot of the time. Your sense of agency refers to your percieved ability to alter the outcome of an event, yes?
Yeah, pretty much.
So is the brain rewiring at some point? Or does it get damaged? Or is it prewired and then turns on at some point? Depression is a disease, but people usually aren’t born depressed.
The paper says it’s a persistent part of the brain’s development. It’s not a symptom of depression, it’s a heritable trait found in people prone to depression.
Diego Pizzagalli
What a name.
