Neuroscientists have moved a step closer to understanding why some people may be more prone to depression than others.
Researchers have identified how the brain links knowledge about social behaviour with moral sentiments, such as pride and guilt. The study, carried out at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in the US, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of 29 healthy individuals while they considered certain social behaviours. The findings – published in the journal Cerebral Cortex – for the first time chart the regions of the brain that interact to link knowledge about socially appropriate behaviour with different moral feelings, depending on the context in which the social behaviour occurs.
The team observed that social behaviour not conforming to an individual’s values evoked feelings of anger when carried out by another person or feelings of guilt when the behaviour stemmed from the individuals themselves. The fMRI scans of each volunteer could then be analysed to see which parts of the brain were activated for the different types of feeling being expressed.
Source: Brain Study Could Lead To New Understanding Of Depression (ScienceDaily)

Chronic exposure to estradiol, the main estrogen in the body, diminishes some cognitive functions. Rats exposed to a steady dose of estradiol were impaired on tasks involving working memory and response inhibition.
Researchers made the discovery when studying the effects of estradiol on activities mediated by the prefrontal cortex, a brain region that is vital to working memory and to the ability to plan, respond to changing conditions and moderate or control one's behavior. Working memory is the ability to briefly remember information needed for a particular task. An example in humans is a phone number that is forgotten soon after the number is dialed.
In the new study, rats were trained to press one of two levers to obtain a food reward. Those that alternated between the levers (which were withdrawn from the rat enclosure for a few seconds between trials) received a reward. Those that hit the same lever twice in a row got no reward. Rats exposed to estradiol performed worse than their counterparts on this task, earning significantly fewer rewards.
Source: Chronic Exposure To Estrogen Impairs Some Cognitive Functions (Science Daily)