Understanding why Depression Is Associated With Parkinson's Disease

Thus medical specialists started looking for an answer, they found that perhaps brain or neuronal damage in Parkinson’s disease is wider than thought earlier. Therefore, depression in Parkinson’s disease is a direct result of the widespread brain damage, rather than just due to disability caused by the disease. Further, it was reported that depression is common in early Parkinson’s disease when the physical disability is very limited. This had, in fact, raised a question that in some cases depression maybe even a nearly sign of Parkinson’s disease.

As Parkinson’s disease is characterized by various mood changes and disorders. One system in the brain that has naturally received lots of attention is the limbic system. It is a part of the brain that has a strong relation to our emotional responses. Especially one of the subunits of limbic system called amygdala answers for emotions like fear, anxiety, and anger. Research shows that in Parkinson’s disease there is a progressive loss of innervation in these centers of emotions (5).