Citation

Jones C, Nemeroff CB. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 2021; 1305: 535-563.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/978-981-33-6044-0_27

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Depression contributes greatly to global disability and is a leading cause of suicide. It has multiple etiologies and therefore response to treatment can vary significantly. By applying the concepts of personalized medicine, precision psychiatry attempts to optimize psychiatric patient care by better predicting which individuals will develop an illness, by giving a more accurate biologically based diagnosis, and by utilizing more effective treatments based on an individual's biological characteristics (biomarkers). In this chapter, we discuss the basic principles underlying the role of biomarkers in psychiatric pathology and then explore multiple biomarkers that are specific to depression. These include endophenotypes, gene variants/polymorphisms, epigenetic factors such as methylation, biochemical measures, circadian rhythm dysregulation, and neuroimaging findings. We also examine the role of early childhood trauma in the development of, and treatment response to, depression. In addition, we review how new developments in technology may play a greater role in the determination of new biomarkers for depression.

Language: en

Keywords

Depression; Biomarkers; Neuroimaging; Endophenotypes; Genetics; Epigenetics; Precision psychiatry