Major depressive disorders are characterized by a significant health burden, including changes in appetite and body weight. Identifying biomarkers such as changes in brain function to treat depression is difficult due to the varying symptomatology of affected individuals. However, a research team—led by Prof. Dr. Nils Kroemer of the University Hospital Tübingen as well as the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn investigated whether conclusions can be drawn about the direction of appetite changes—increase or decrease—based on the functional architecture of the reward system in the brain. The results are now published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Depression has many faces. A variety of changes in motivation, emotions and physical experiences characterize the disorder. Many patients suffering from depression do not only lose their drive and interest in rewarding activities, but also their appetite. At the same time, other patients report increased appetite during a depressive episode. So far, not much is known about the causes of these differences in symptoms within depression and how they can be specifically treated.

A team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Nils Kroemer, who works in the Translational Psychiatry Unit of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Tübingen and, since 2022, also as Professor of Medical Psychology at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Bonn, has now been able to gain new insights into this topic as part of a multicenter study. By using magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers showed that the direction of appetite changes associated with depression is linked to specific changes in the brain's reward system.

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