Limbic and Prefrontal Connectivity and Treatment Selection for Depression

Peter ForsterBasic Science, Best Practices, Major Depression, Psychobiology, Treatments of Depression

Boadie Dunlop, M.D., M.S., and Helen Mayberg, M.D., both of Emory University School of Medicine, and colleagues assessed resting-state functional connectivity between the subcallosal cingulate cortex (SCC) and three other brain regions—the dorsal midbrain, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex—in 122 patients with depression. The patients were then randomized to 12 weeks of cognitive-behavioral …

Efficacy or Effectiveness

Peter ForsterMajor Depression, Treatments of Depression

What is the difference between efficacy and effectiveness? We tend to use these terms interchangeably in our posts on this site, but the two are different and the difference can be important. Efficacy refers to the power of a treatment to achieve a given outcome assuming that the patient is perfectly compliant and completes the treatment. Effectiveness addresses the more …