SYDNEY: A new study examining the impact of depression on all five senses has found that depression is more than just a cognitive-emotional disorder, paving the way for more targeted treatments.
Researchers from the University of New England (UNE) in Australia reported that people with depression showed significantly greater "sensory hyposensitivity" across all five senses compared with non-depressed individuals, according to a UNE statement released Thursday (July 16)
"This had not been documented in such detail previously and shows how depression can trigger a whole-body response," said UNE Professor of Neuroscience, Christopher Sharpley, lead author of the study published in Nature's Translational Psychiatry.
Sensory withdrawal is the body's way of coping with the pain, loss, stress and conflict that can drive depression, Sharpley suggested.
"When someone's world becomes so painful or inescapable they can no longer cope, the only response our body has is to withdraw," he said, suggesting that a reduction in sensory sensitivity may help the body withdraw from an overwhelmingly unpleasant world.
The team reviewed 51 previous studies examining sight, touch, taste, hearing and smell, and argued that incorporating sensory withdrawal into diagnostic criteria for depression could pave the way for more comprehensive diagnosis and evidence-based treatment.
The study forms part of broader work by UNE's Brain-Behaviour Research Group, which has identified five depression subtypes based on distinct brain wave patterns in more than 200 participants, with each subtype requiring more tailored therapeutic approaches rather than uniform treatment strategies, Sharpley said. - Xinhua
