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The brain activity of patients with depression could help doctors determine who will respond to Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).
In a study conducted by the University of Glasgow, researchers found that brain activity recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) could help predict a person's response to CBT in depression before the start of treatment.
At present, doctors are not able to tell in advance which patients will benefit from CBT. Instead, they must use a trial and error approach.
This can add to the health system and prevent some patients, for whom CBT does not work, from taking alternative treatment in a timely manner.
It is estimated that more than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression.
However, not all patients receive CBT and should instead look for other forms of treatment.
In their study, the researchers recruited patients with depression who participated in an internet-provided TBI – the first recommended treatment line in the UK for mild-to-moderate depression.
They were then given a task to perform in an MRI scanner while the scientists observed their behavior.
Dr. Filippo Queirazza, lead author of the document from the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology of the University, said: "Up to now, most fMRI studies have searched for a brain signature of the Response to treatment in depression reported average differences and then badumed that these differences generalize to each individual, but this may not be the case.
"In our study, we show that fMRI activity clbadifies the CBT response at the individual level, with about 80% of the predictive power."
Dr. Marios Philiastides, lead author of the paper, said, "We explicitly model the mechanisms of response to treatment to discover the brain activity that predicts response to CBT.
"While this approach can potentially improve the predictive power of imaging biomarkers, it can also provide important insights into new targets for drug development."
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