Inflammation rapidly impairs mood and cognition and, when severe, can appear indistinguishable from major depression.
The present findings suggest impaired mood and cognition in patients suffering from acute SAR which may be linked rather to immunological (inflammatory) processes than to SAR symptomatology.
Though clinically effective, IFN-α rapidly impairs mood, motivation and cognition, effects that can appear indistinguishable from major depression and provide powerful empirical support for the inflammation theory of depression.
The stress induction was effective in that the stressor impaired mood, including augmenting feelings of tension, anger, confusion and anxiety, reduced accuracy on a cognitive task measuring attentional control and the ability to regulate emotion, and increased salivary cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β).
LeGates TA, Altimus CM, Wang H, Lee HK, Yang S, Zhao H, Kirkwood A, Weber ET, Hattar S. Aberrant light directly impairs mood and learning through melanopsin-expressing neurons.
"Acute sleep deprivation can impair mood, cognitive performance, and psychomotor function," the study authors wrote.
In addition, participants learned about the link between diabetes and mood and ways to influence impaired mood with cognitive techniques.
These abnormalities may be associated with poorer outcome because they impair mood regulatory interactions between prefrontal and limbic areas [ 29].
High levels of cortisol can impair mood as well as cause hyperglycemia and insulin resistance and other traits typical of T2D and MetS.
