The University of New England is looking for people to take part in a large study to help improve the early diagnosis and treatment of depression.
The research, being conducted by the university’s Brain Behaviour Group, is looking for 100 volunteers aged over 18, and you don’t need to suffer from depression to get involved.
Dr Ian Evans who is supervising the project, says the high number of people the university is aiming to involve, is unusual for this type of study.
“Typically, your sample sizes are in the 30s and the 40s,” he said, “once you get into the treble digits, you can be a bit more confident of the results.”
Researchers of the Brain Behaviour Group are looking to identify factors associated with different types of depression.
“The definitions for the categories tend to be rather broad, that’s why we just use major depression to cover any type of long-term sadness or melancholy,” Dr Evans said.
“If we can get more specific about the behaviour and how its measured in the brain, how we can identify what parts of the brain are responsible for these things – then we can be more exact with how to treat it in the first place.”
Depression affects 1 in 7 people in Australia, according to Beyond Blue, and can present in different ways.
Dr Evans says that there are various subtypes of depression with unique features and challenges.
“You speak to people with depression and you tend to get a slightly broad range of responses in talking about what’s wrong … sometimes it’s more of just a sense that the body is gone, sometimes they just feel sad, they feel disconnected, sometimes they don’t feel anything at all,” he said.
“If we can get into the neural mechanics that can separate these particular subtypes … if indeed there are different mechanics, we need to establish that as well … then we can help develop a diagnostic tool, and also develop more specific treatment for it.”
Those who get involved with the study will be asked to complete a questionnaire, provide samples of saliva, and attend the Brain-Behaviour laboratory on the Armidale campus for around and hour and a half.
The researchers say no genetic material will be collected.
In the lab, participants will complete some tests to measure physical responses to emotional prompts, and have their brain activity measured via an EEG scan.
The EEG will allow researchers to see the location of electrical activity in the brain so they can identify which exact parts of the grey matter are involved.
“So, we can start using treatments like transcranial magnetic stimulation to apply the magnetic fields to very specific parts of the brain rather than just playing guesswork as a lot of treatments are nowadays,” Dr Evans said.
Dr Evans says current treatments for depression generally tend to go through variations of the cognitive behavioural therapy or pharmaceuticals, or a combination of the two.
“The pharmaceutical line is getting a little more popular because it’s much more convenient, and they can help. But the can part tends to be a little iffy,” he said.
“If we can get a bit more assurance that the treatment that we have actually has the effect that we’re looking for, then we can be a lot more confident in actually improving peoples’ lives.”
If you would like to get involved with the study or would like some more information: email BBRG@une.edu.au.
All information collected with be kept confidential.
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