Subjects simulated angry moments by recalling the moments in their lives when they felt rage. He employed positron emission tomography imaging to examine which regions of the brain engage during angry moments. Understanding this link could provide valuable insights into these disorders and their treatment.ĭougherty began in 1999 by investigating healthy people with no signs of depression and no history of angry episodes. “We wanted to investigate the mechanisms behind those reactions.”įor these patients, angry outbursts usually stop when the depression ends. “People will yell or throw things,” says Dougherty. Some of these patients experience angry flare–ups that are inappropriate to the situation and out of character for the individual. This finding is one in a series from studies led by Darin Dougherty, an HMS associate professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, that aim to uncover why anger attacks occur in patients with major depressive disorder. When an angry feeling coincides with aggressive or hostile behavior, it also activates the amygdala, an almond–shaped part of the brain associated with emotions, particularly fear, anxiety, and anger. The words used to describe anger tend to be volcanic. Depression and anger often go hand in handįlares and flashes.
