Brain scans may finally end the guesswork in depression treatment

Researchers compared a traditional Chinese medicine, Yueju Pill, with a standard antidepressant and found both reduced depression symptoms. However, only Yueju Pill increased a brain-supporting protein associated with mood improvement. Brain imaging showed that unique network patterns-especially in visual regions-could predict who benefited most from Yueju Pill. This opens the door to more personalized depression treatments guided by brain scans.