In the study published in the scientific journal JAMA Network is openResearchers have identified a specific subtype of depression that appears to occur in more than a quarter of patients with major depression.
Studies have shown that patients with this subtype have more pronounced symptoms of insomnia, difficulty with planning, self-control, and concentration, and suppression of inappropriate behavior.
The scans also showed decreased activity in certain areas of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex and cerebral cortex, which control some of these tasks.
Help from brain scans
The study was conducted on 1,008 adults with previously untreated depression who were prescribed three commonly used types of antidepressants that act on the brain’s neurotransmitter, serotonin, also known as SSRIs.
More than 700 participants completed the eight-week trial, during which researchers measured symptoms of depression before and after treatment.
Participants were also presented with a series of cognitive tasks that measured working memory, verbal memory, decision-making speed, and attention level.
In addition, the brains of a group of 96 people were scanned while they had to press a button as quickly as possible.
Researchers found that 27 percent of patients had a particular profile with more prominent symptoms, such as cognitive delay and insomnia.
They also found that this particular group of patients seemed to benefit the least from SSRI medications and that sertraline seemed to benefit the least for this group.
More targeted therapies
However, the team stresses that there may be other factors influencing patients’ cognitive decline, and so we should not group them together.
However, they are hopeful that brain scans and tests can help diagnose the different subtypes, as more targeted treatments for the condition are needed as soon as possible.
“I often watch people suffer, lose hope, and become suicidal while going through these trial and error processes,” says behavioral scientist Laura Hack. vs Scientific alert
“This is because we started with medications that have the same mechanism of action for everyone with depression, even though the depression is very different in nature,” she explains.
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