Hi.
> > Can depression cause reduced blood flow in the brain?
> >
> > I had a SPECT scan done and the report says I have slight reduction in brain blood flow to the left frontal lobe.
> >
> > The report and the neurologist who ordered it says the scan does not follow a pattern of classic neurological diseases but instead points to depression. (?!)
> >
> > I've been trying to look up brain reduced blood flow in depression and I can't find much. All I get on reduced blood flow to frontal lobe is Alzheimers.
> >
>
> SLS (Scott) posted a link to an image of a brain scan recently. I can't find it now; maybe he can point to it or repost the link if he reads this.
>
> -undopaminergic
The following PET scan image represents glucose metabolism (fluorodeoxyglucose tracer) throughout the brain. The difference between a healthy brain versus that of someone with Major Depressive Disorder is stark. It is rendered as a type of weather map. The different colors represent levels of brain utilization of glucose. Red and orange depict high brain activity while greens and blues depict low activity. The image is created by the expulsion of gamma rays.
https://www.smarttms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/depressed-brain-scan.jpg
Similarly, blood flow can be measured using oxygen 15. Blood flow has been reported to be significantly reduced in depression in various brain structures.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5441226/
- Scott
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