UNC School of Medicine researchers have shown that brain scans can predict which patients with clinical depression are most likely to benefit from a specific kind of talk therapy.
The study, which was published today in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, is the first to use a technique known as resting-state functional brain connectivity MRI to identify differences in brain wiring that predict therapeutic responses to talk therapy.
The research shows that brain scans could ultimately be used as a diagnostic tool to determine the best course of treatment for the millions of Americans that suffer from depression.
"In the future, we will be able to use non-invasive brain imaging technology to match patients with the treatment option that has the best chance of lifting their depression," said senior author Gabriel S. Dichter, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and psychology. "In my mind, that's as important as developing new treatments. We already have a lot of excellent treatments but no way to know which one is best for a particular patient."
[For more of this story, written by Mark Derewicz, go to http://medicalxpress.com/news/...rapy-depression.html]
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