Depression is a common mental disorder that affects approximately 5 percent of adults worldwide.
The study led by a Stanford Medicine team applied problem-solving therapy. The therapy reduced depression in a third of the group of difficult-to-treat patients.
The team focused on 108 adults diagnosed with major depression and obesity, a confluence of symptoms that often indicate problems with cognitive control circuitry.
While 59 adults underwent a year-long problem-solving therapy program in addition to their usual care, such as medications and visits to a primary care doctor, 49 received only usual care.
Participants also underwent fMRI brain scans and completed questionnaires assessing their problem-solving abilities and depression symptoms.
Among the problem-solving group, 32 percent of participants responded to the therapy, the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine revealed.
Lead author Xue Zhang, a postdoctoral scholar in psychiatry at the university, called it "a big improvement." This is because patients with obesity and depression have only a 17 percent response rate to antidepressants.
Brain scans showed that in the group that received only usual care, a cognitive control circuit that became less active over the course of the study was correlated with worsening problem-solving ability.
The pattern was reversed in the group that received therapy. Decreased activity was correlated with increased problem-solving ability.
It may be because their brains are learning to process information more efficiently through therapy, the team said.
Whereas before therapy, their brains had been working harder; They were now working smarter, the team said.
Overall, both groups improved in the severity of their depression. But for some, problem-solving therapy brought more clarity, allowing them to return to work, resume their hobbies, and also manage social interactions.
The study led by a Stanford Medicine team applied problem-solving therapy. The therapy reduced depression in a third of the group of difficult-to-treat patients.
The team focused on 108 adults diagnosed with major depression and obesity, a confluence of symptoms that often indicate problems with cognitive control circuitry.
While 59 adults underwent a year-long problem-solving therapy program in addition to their usual care, such as medications and visits to a primary care doctor, 49 received only usual care.
Participants also underwent fMRI brain scans and completed questionnaires assessing their problem-solving abilities and depression symptoms.
Among the problem-solving group, 32 percent of participants responded to the therapy, the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine revealed.
Lead author Xue Zhang, a postdoctoral scholar in psychiatry at the university, called it "a big improvement." This is because patients with obesity and depression have only a 17 percent response rate to antidepressants.
Brain scans showed that in the group that received only usual care, a cognitive control circuit that became less active over the course of the study was correlated with worsening problem-solving ability.
The pattern was reversed in the group that received therapy. Decreased activity was correlated with increased problem-solving ability.
It may be because their brains are learning to process information more efficiently through therapy, the team said.
Whereas before therapy, their brains had been working harder; They were now working smarter, the team said.
Overall, both groups improved in the severity of their depression. But for some, problem-solving therapy brought more clarity, allowing them to return to work, resume their hobbies, and also manage social interactions.
