PET scans reveal how psychodynamic therapy for depression may change brain function

(Massachusetts General Hospital) A study from Massachusetts General Hospital investigators has identified for the first time changes in the metabolic activity of a key brain region in patients successfully treated for depression with psychodynamic psychotherapy, suggesting a mechanism of action behind an important and widely practiced form of therapy. They also found evidence that pretreatment metabolism in a different brain structure might predict which patients are likely to respond to psychod...