Shades of gray: Depression alters vision
The Boston Globe
July 26, 2010
Depressed people really do see the world in shades of gray, according to new research from Germany. Emanuel Bubl of the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg led a study that used an electroretinogram — like an electrocardiogram for the eye — that measured how the retina responds to visual contrast.
Forty people with major depression, including half who were taking antidepressants and half who were not, were enrolled in the trial, along with 40 people who were not depressed.
All the participants were asked to look at a black-and-white checkerboard whose contrast changed from low to high. All the depressed patients, whether they were taking medication or not, had significantly lower responses to contrast compared with the control group.
The more depressed a patient was, the lower the score. The difference was so striking that researchers could tell from the test results alone who was depressed and who was not.
BOTTOM LINE: People with major depression, even if they are taking antidepressant medications, see the world with less visual contrast than people who are not depressed.
CAUTIONS: The pilot study cannot say if the differences in vision are linked only to depression, or if other psychiatric disorders might also be related.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Biological Psychiatry
The Boston Globe
July 26, 2010
Depressed people really do see the world in shades of gray, according to new research from Germany. Emanuel Bubl of the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg led a study that used an electroretinogram — like an electrocardiogram for the eye — that measured how the retina responds to visual contrast.
Forty people with major depression, including half who were taking antidepressants and half who were not, were enrolled in the trial, along with 40 people who were not depressed.
All the participants were asked to look at a black-and-white checkerboard whose contrast changed from low to high. All the depressed patients, whether they were taking medication or not, had significantly lower responses to contrast compared with the control group.
The more depressed a patient was, the lower the score. The difference was so striking that researchers could tell from the test results alone who was depressed and who was not.
BOTTOM LINE: People with major depression, even if they are taking antidepressant medications, see the world with less visual contrast than people who are not depressed.
CAUTIONS: The pilot study cannot say if the differences in vision are linked only to depression, or if other psychiatric disorders might also be related.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Biological Psychiatry
