Current status and future perspective of fMRI study on depression

Abstract

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allow us to probe the brain function at relatively good spatial and temporal resolution without the use of invasive techniques, and there are a number of promising results about brain mechanisms of psychiatric disorders. Abnormalities in the central executive network including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the default mode network are consistent findings in depression. However, there are currently no fMRI biomarkers that are clinically useful for establishing diagnosis or predicting treatment outcome in depression. In this paper, we will summarize main fMRI findings in depression, introduce the current status of biological marker development using machine learning, and discuss about the tasks and perspectives for clinical application.