Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
This umbrella review looked at the best existing reviews and large studies to see if depression is linked to low serotonin or low serotonin activity. Across measures of serotonin in fluids, receptor and transporter studies, tryptophan depletion experiments, and large genetic studies, the evidence was mixed or absent. The authors…
This 2022 review looks at studies linking stress, inflammation, and changes in the amygdala to depression and anxiety. It says stress can trigger inflammation in the body and brain, that inflammation can change neurons and circuits in the amygdala, and that these changes are linked to depression- and anxiety-like signs…
This is a theoretical review that looks at depression from both Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It says depression is an emotion regulation disorder and is common worldwide. The paper reviews ideas from both systems and suggests possible brain and body pathways that could link TCM concepts of…
This small case series tested group-based ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (G-KAP) with five women in a residential eating-disorder program. Participants got weekly intramuscular ketamine in a group for 4 weeks. Four of five showed clinically meaningful drops in depression scores after the final session, and two of five showed clinically meaningful drops…
