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Psychology & Behavioral Science Active Updated Jul 12, 2026

Depression splits into biologically distinct subtypes

Large genetic studies and brain imaging are finding that major depression is not one disease but at least two, defined by opposite symptom patterns, while scans show the brain tissue changes chronic depression leaves behind can reverse with treatment. The arc will run as researchers try to turn subtype and imaging findings into tests that guide which patients get which drug.

The story so far

  1. Jul 12, 2026 Latest

    A genetics team analyzed three genome-wide association meta-analyses across more than 460,000 people and found major depression splits into two biological subtypes, AERS+ marked by hypersomnia and weight gain and AERS- marked by insomnia and weight loss, tied to 27 gene variants including several never reported before. Separately, brain scans of nearly 120 people with persistent depressive disorder treated with duloxetine or desvenlafaxine showed tissue changes from chronic depression normalizing with treatment, tracking with how much symptoms improved.

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