Our Research - Depression
We research the causes and consequences of depression in Edinburgh using large population-based studies conducted in both the UK and in other countries, including Generation Scotland, Generation Malawi and UK Biobank. Many different methods are used, but we often use genomic and neuroimaging techniques in our work.
Genomics refers to the study of whole genomes and includes studies that look at the genetic factors shared by people who are closely and distantly related and how that puts them at risk of depression. Other genomic techniques study how treatments, lifestyle factors and the environment alter how genetic information is read or altered (epigenetics) and then converted into protein (proteomics). Much of our work is conducted in collaboration with the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, a worldwide network of genomics researchers from more than 100 countries.
Our neuroimaging research uses mainly magnetic resonance imaging to study brain structure and function and how it changes over time. We have conducted many studies of young people at high risk of depression and other mood disorders, so we can see how the brain changes as people become unwell. Through our work and with wider collaborations (e.g. ENIGMA working groups) we often combine neuroimaging with genomics to help build up a picture of how risk factors cause depression as well as the brain's response to illness and its treatment.
UoE researchers who work in this area include:
- Professor Danny Smith, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Psychiatry (Head)
- Professor Stephen Lawrie, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Psychiatry
- Professor Andrew McIntosh, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Psychiatry
- Dr Heather Whalley, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Psychiatry
Useful weblinks: