Depression treatments have the ability to rewire the human brain, according to a study that calls into question the belief that the structure of the adult brain is generally rigid.Researchers at the University of Muenster in Germany have shown that in-patient treatment for depression can lead to an increase in brain connectivity.Those patients who respond well to this treatment show a greater increase in connectivity than those who do not, they said.
The study, presented at the European College for Neuropsychopharmacology Congress in Vienna, Austria, calls into question the belief that the structure of the adult brain is generally rigid and incapable of rapid changes.The researchers found that patients who responded well to anti-depression treatment, showed a greater increase in connectivity than those who did not.”We found that treatment for depression changed the infrastructure of the brain, which goes against previous expectations,” said study lead researcher Professor Jonathan Repple. ‘Treated patients showed a greater number of connections than they had shown before treatment,” Repple said.