ReviewFundamental research2025
Novel and emerging physical treatments for major depressive disorder.
Review in Fundamental research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Low Dose Ketamine Preconditions Astrocyte Mitochondria to Achieve Antidepressant Efficacy via Adenosine, Humanin, and Melatonin Upregulation and Efflux.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Physical biomedical science.Fundamental research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD), a widespread psychiatric disease with significant impacts on neurological functioning and quality of life, affects 4.4% of the global population. Despite the availability of various treatments, including antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy, approximately 50% of patients with MDD exhibit inadequate responses, leading to treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This review evaluates novel physical treatments for depression, focusing on music therapy, light therapy, cold therapy, and brain stimulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and deep-brain stimulation (DBS). Music therapy leverages the emotional and social benefits of music to improve mood and cognitive function. Light therapy influences circadian rhythms and neurotransmitter modulation to reduce depressive symptoms. Cold therapy, by regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and neurotransmitter systems, offers a promising approach for depression management. Brain stimulation techniques, including rTMS, tDCS, and DBS, provide non-pharmacological alternatives by modulating brain activity and connectivity. Although these novel treatments show potential, significant variabilities in clinical outcomes highlight the need for personalized treatment strategies. Future research should prioritize elucidating the mechanisms of these therapies, optimizing treatment protocols, and conducting larger randomized controlled trials to evaluate their efficacy and safety. The integration of advanced technologies and comprehensive mechanistic analyses will be crucial for advancing the field and improving treatment outcomes for MDD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.