Distinct antidepressant therapies act on a common brain network.
Gong-Jun Ji1,2,3,4,5,6, Wenqiang Xu1,2, Juan Zhang1,2,7
1School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Nature Communications
|January 3, 2026
Summary
Distinct antidepressant therapies target a common amygdala network, crucial for depression remission. Strengthening this network
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Depression is a prevalent global health issue with insufficient clinical treatments.
- Identifying neural mechanisms of depression remission is key to developing better therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To uncover the common neural network modulated by various antidepressant treatments.
- To identify potential therapeutic targets for depression.
Main Methods:
- Therapeutic network mapping was applied to secondary analyses of 16 longitudinal depression studies.
- Validation involved independent patient datasets and preclinical experiments.
- Associations with genetic, neurotransmitter, and cognitive networks were examined.
Main Results:
- The amygdala network was commonly modulated by pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and magnetic seizure therapy.
- This network is linked to depression-related genes, neurotransmitters, and cognition.
- Strengthened connectivity within this network correlated with improved depression alleviation.
Conclusions:
- Distinct antidepressant therapies converge on a shared neural network.
- This common network represents a promising target for novel depression treatments.
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