QIMR Berghofer lead researcher Dr Philip Mosley says an accurate and early diagnosis of melancholic depression is vital.
“The research will allow GPs and other clinicians to diagnose people with melancholic depression more quickly and accurately, having them well again and feeling connected to their loved ones sooner,” Dr Mosley said.
During the study, Dr Philip Mosley and his team used AI to analyse the facial expressions of 70 clinical trial participants with depression as they watched a funny movie. Participants then watched an emotional short film as their brain activity was measured in an MRI scanner.
Participants were selected from a unique genetic database of people with depression established at QIMR Berghofer by Professor Nick Martin.
The findings showed clear differences between people with melancholia, and people with non-melancholic depression.
Dr Philip Mosley
“People with melancholia looked flat, and didn’t smile during a funny video. This visible difference was confirmed mathematically when we did a comprehensive analysis of the movements of facial muscles involved in smiling,” Dr Mosley said.
“Furthermore, their brains responded differently during uplifting scenes in an emotional movie. In psychiatry, the difficulty in expressing and responding to positive emotions may be called ‘flattening’ or ‘blunting.’ Here, it was as if the brain regions that we know are involved in registering and processing positive emotions were also flattened and blunted.”
Dr Mosley hopes the research will help doctors offer a more personalised treatment pathway.
“We know that standard ‘first-line’ treatments for depression may not always be as effective for those deeply affected by melancholia. If we can identify this type of depression more quickly and accurately, it will benefit not only patients, but their families and community, who may be devastated by the effects of treatment-resistant depression upon a loved one.”
The next step for the QIMR Berghofer research team will be to test the theory that melancholic depression may be better treated with neuromodulation, which may include transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation.
The research was supported via funding from Wesley Medical Research, the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Health and Medical Research Council and Queensland Health Metro North Hospital and Health Service.
