Abstract
Depressed patients are highly prevalent and their social and economic losses are enormous. In recent years, brain imaging studies have made remarkable progress, and various approaches have been attempted to elucidate the pathophysiology of depressed patients and to explore new possibilities for their treatment. In Japan, a large‐scale multicenter longitudinal brain imaging study was conducted. We collected brain MRI data before and after typical treatments for depression : pharmacotherapy, cognitive‐behavioral therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation to elucidate the treatment effects and mechanisms. In this paper, we reviewed the effects of cognitive‐behavioral therapy and brain imaging alterations in depressed patients, focusing mainly on alterations in functional connectivity and dynamic functional connectivity. In the treatment of depressed patients with various symptoms, we hope that the findings of the large brain imaging study will contribute to the establishment of effective treatment methods and therapeutic strategies based on the assumption of alterations in the brain.
