Depression is a common psychiatric illness, which can be accompanied by psychotic features such as delusions or hallucinations. As medication often has insufficient effects, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be administered. Although this therapy is very efficient, it is not without its drawbacks and patients are often reluctant to consider this option.

This project will research the biological changes (in blood samples and in the brain) linked to psychotic depression and ECT-response, in order to improve differentiation of psychotic and non-psychotic depression, and to identify new treatment strategies as efficient as ECT without its impediments and disadvantages. In the long term, this could contribute to optimisation of diagnosis and development of new, improved medication for psychotic depression.

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