Scientists found that certain changes in neural activity predicted which patients would benefit from a type of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Cognitive behavioral therapy, one of the most common treatments for depression, can teach skills for coping with everyday troubles, reinforce healthy behaviors and counter negative thoughts. But can altering thoughts and behaviors lead to lasting changes in the brain?
"Yet in depression, we have no tests being used. You have this broad sense of emotional pain, but it's a trial-and-error process to choose a treatment, because we have no tests for what is going on in the brain." The participants in the new study were adults diagnosed with both major depression and obesity, a confluence of symptoms that often indicates problems with the cognitive control circuit. Patients with this profile generally do poorly on antidepressants: They have a dismal response rate of 17%.
But in the group receiving therapy, the pattern was reversed: Decreased activity correlated with enhanced problem-solving ability. The researchers think this may be due to their brains learning, through the therapy, to process information more efficiently. "That's important, because it tells us that there is an actual brain change going on early, and it's in the time frame that you'd expect brain plasticity," Williams said."Real-world problem solving is literally changing the brain in a couple of months."
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