Depression

Research

Mayo Clinic researchers have made a number of important contributions to studies on depression, especially in relation to other medical problems, psychiatric disorders or addictions. Areas of research include:

• Developing chemical compounds to use in new antidepressant drugs
• How genomic variations may predict response to medications (pharmacogenomics)
• How genetics may relate to psychosis
• Developing neuroimaging methods to assess variation and abnormalities in brain function of people with mood disorders
• Electroconvulsive therapy for mood disorders
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation for mood disorders
• Genetic influences on suicidal behavior

Mayo scientists developed a blood test, the cytochrome P450 test, to help pinpoint genetic factors that play a role in a person's response to most antidepressant medications. This information helps doctors understand which medications work more effectively for one person versus another and which should be avoided based on how a person's body breaks down (metabolizes) drugs.

Read more about research on mood disorders in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Mayo Clinic.

Publications

See a list of publications on depression by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.