Researchers continue to pursue a biological laboratory test for some of the most common and serious mental disorders, as they’ve been doing now for over a decade. I think it’s always infinitely harder to test for something when you don’t really understand the basis of how it actually works in our brains:

Despite decades of research, the biological basis of depression is unknown, and the molecular and cellular targets of antidepressant treatment remain elusive, although it is likely that these drugs have one or more primary targets.

What’s the latest research saying?

In their study, Rasenick and colleagues compared brain samples from depressed people who had committed suicide with controls who had no history of psychiatric disorders. They found that while the total amount of Gs alpha was the same in the depressed and non-depressed, the depressed have a greater proportion of Gs alpha confined to lipid rafts (regions of receptor regulation).

So, no, the test isn’t coming any time soon given the researchers had to extract their samples from donated corpses’ brains. And more importantly, the researchers haven’t tested for whether the Gs alpha are confined to lipid rafts in only people with depression, because this is the only study done on humans so far.

Do we need a lab test for depression? Well, sure, it would be a positive thing to have if it was inexpensive (because it could confirm some biological marker for it, if such a thing is proven to exist reliably in all people with depression).

But right now, we have 5 questions for depression that can tell a person in about 1 minute whether they may have depression. A more in-depth diagnostic interview, given by an experienced mental health professional such as a psychologist can reliably detect the presence of depression in most people in under 90 minutes (which will still be faster and likely cheaper than the laboratory test).

Read the full article: Laboratory Test for Depression May Be Possible

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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Do we Need a Lab Test for Depression? : Anxiety-Stress (3/13/2008)

Do we Need a Lab Test for Depression? · One Looking (3/13/2008)

depression » Blog Archive » Do we Need a Lab Test for Depression? (3/13/2008)

7 Best Free Depression Tests | Healthy Health List (heheli.com) (3/18/2008)

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 13 Mar 2008
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