If the depression heals, you can see again clear

Scientists develop method, in future the subjective state of depression can be measured objectively with the

Depression and melancholy are always circumscribed in art and literature with visual concepts: gray and black are the colors that are available for melancholy or depression. In English, however, the depressed mood with the color blue is brought in connection, such as when a depressed person says: "I'm feeling blue." That behind these metaphors also hides an empirical reality, now a research group at the University of Freiburg Medical Center has discovered with scientists from psychiatry, psychotherapy and ophthalmology.

On previous investigations they discovered that depressed people black and white contrasts perceive worse than healthy. In 2010 published study, the Freiburg scientists had means of an objective electrophysiological method - similar to an EKG heart - the condition of the retina detected, investigated the response of the retina in an alternating checkerboard pattern with different contrasts in depressed and healthy individuals. There were highly significant differences: Depressed people show a dramatically lower response of the retina to this optical stimuli.

In a newly published in the British Journal of Psychiatry another study, the same authors showed that the abnormal signals after resolution of depression again normalized (http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/201/2/151.full). This means that the impaired contrast sensitivity of the retina normalized after improvement of depression and could be measured according to objective criteria.

Should these study findings confirmed in further studies, would use this method to a method for disposal in an objective way of actually subjective state of depression could be measured by. This could far-reaching effects not only on depression research, but also to the diagnosis and treatment of depressive states.

Source: Freiburg [University Hospital]