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.
Researchers are testing many ways to help people who feel low energy or low motivation, often as part of treating depression. The clearest, strongest evidence right now is for ketamine and its close relative esketamine. These drugs can reduce depressive symptoms quickly for some people who did not get better with usual medicines. Regular physical activity, especially walking, also has good evidence for reducing depressive symptoms and may help energy over time. Other approaches look promising but are still early-stage. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (drugs like psilocybin or MDMA given together with careful therapy) shows encouraging results in trials but needs more research and detailed therapy support. Brain-based treatments such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) or combining brain stimulation with ketamine are experimental but may help some people who have not responded to many other treatments. Whole-body hyperthermia (controlled heating) is very preliminary and needs careful testing and safety checks. Across all options, safety, careful preparation, and close follow-up are important because effects and risks vary between people.
Researchers are studying whether brain scans taken before treatment can help pick the best treatment for people with major depression. They found that activity in one brain area (the fronto-insular cortex) at rest might tell who will do better with talk therapy versus medication, while high activity in another area…
