Citation

Harris E. J. Am. Med. Assoc. JAMA 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jama.2023.12543

PMID

37436745

Abstract

Depression after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) might represent a distinct condition from major depressive disorder, according to an analysis that applied a precision brain-mapping method to data gathered from 273 participants in 5 previously published studies.

People with depression associated with TBI--what the researchers termed "TBI affective syndrome"--had distinct connectivity patterns within a particular brain circuit compared with those with depression who did not have TBI and those who experienced TBI alone. The brain regions that form the circuit are involved in attention to the external world as well as internal reflection and rumination.

If changes in brain connectivity rather than differences in neurochemical and psychological factors indeed underpin the pathophysiology of TBI-associated depression, patients with the condition might be better served by structurally oriented treatments such as transcranial magnetic stimulation rather than serotonergic or cognitive behavioral therapy, the researchers noted in Science Translational Medicine.

Language: en