Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed medication for major depressive disorder (MDD), yet scientists still do not understand why the treatment does not work in nearly thirty percent of patients with MDD. Now, Salk Institute researchers have discovered differences in growth patterns of neurons of SSRI-resistant patients. The work, published in Molecular Psychiatry on March 22, 2019, has implications for depression as well as other psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia that likely also involve abnormalities of the serotonin system in the brain. “With each new…
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Childhood trauma may affect brain structure, predisposing adults to recurring major depressive disorder
Early life trauma may affect the structure of the brain in a way that makes clinical depression more likely to be severe and recurrent, according to a two-year observational study of 110 patients published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. Previous studies have suggested an association between maltreatment and altered brain structure, while others have identified an association between maltreatment and major depressive disorder. This is the first study that directly establishes a link between maltreatment experiences, brain structural alterations and clinical course of depression. It is also the first to shed light…
Read MoreDeep brain stimulation provides sustained relief for severe depression
Patients suffering from severe, treatment-resistant depression can benefit not only acutely but also the long-term from deep brain stimulation, as researchers from the Medical Center — University of Freiburg and their colleagues from the University Hospital Bonn demonstrate in a current study. The team used thin electrodes to stimulate a deep seated part of the reward system in the brains of 16 patients. This led to a significant reduction of ratings of depression severity in all patients, it was reduced by half on average. For half of the study participants…
Read MoreBrain-inspired AI inspires insights about the brain (and vice versa)
Can artificial intelligence (AI) help us understand how the brain understands language? Can neuroscience help us understand why AI and neural networks are effective at predicting human perception? Research from Alexander Huth and Shailee Jain from The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) suggests both are possible. In a paper presented at the 2018 Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), the scholars described the results of experiments that used artificial neural networks to predict with greater accuracy than ever before how different areas in the brain respond to…
Read MoreNo link found between MMR vaccine and autism, even among children with other risk factors for autism
A nationwide cohort study of all children born in Denmark to Danish-born mothers between 1999 through 2010 concluded that the mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR) vaccine does not increase the risk of autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with clustering of autism cases following vaccination. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. The hypothesized link between measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism continues to cause concern and challenge vaccine uptake. Currently, there is a concerning increase in measles cases in Europe and…
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