Brain activity helps explain diabetics negative feelings, risk for depression

Study suggests those negative feelings may originate from problems regulating blood sugar levels that impact emotional response in the brain. The examination found people with Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes will probably focus on and have a strong emotional response to threats and negative things, which influences quality of life and increases risk for depression.  

Specialist says gauging the startle response allowed researchers to measure central nervous system activity using tiny electrodes placed below the eye. Study participants viewed a progression of negative, positive and neutral images intended to evoke an emotional response. The electrodes captured the rate of flinch or startle, a contraction we cannot control, associated with each image, researchers said.

Individuals with more elevated amounts of insulin resistance were more startled by negative pictures. By expansion, they might be more reactive to negative things in life. It is one piece of evidence to suggest that these metabolic problems are related to issues with how we perceive and deal with things that stress all of us out.

The specialists say the evidence is even more compelling when combined with the results of EEG tests recording activity when the brain is at rest. Study participants with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes had greater activity on the right side of the brain, which is associated with depression and negative emotions. If someone is predisposed to focusing on negative things, it may become a barrier for getting thinner and switching medical problems.

Individuals with prediabetes and diabetes also recorded lower cortisol levels, a potential indicator of chronic stress and cognitive test scores, providing giving extra help to the discoveries.

For people with blood sugar problems, being more stressed and responsive can cause blood sugar to spike. If people with diabetes and prediabetes are trying to treat or reverse the disease, stressful events may hinder their goals. Frequent negative reactions to stressful events can prompt to a lower quality of life and create a vicious cycle that makes it hard to be healthy.

Contact details:
Tiffany Hales
Program Manager | Diabetic 2018
Mail id: diabetes@mehealthevents.org