Machine learning algorithm can help predict depression based on MRI scans

Depression can be hard to diagnose, let alone to predict in advance. This machine learning system could highlight individuals who may be vulnerable to depression -- based only on their MRI scans. Depression can be a crippling disorder, affecting upward of 15 million American adults and representing the leading cause of disability for people between 15-44. New research coming out of the University of Texas at Austin could make it easier to diagnose, however -- or even to highlight individuals who could be vulnerable to depression prior to its onset. "There's a whole lot of literature that's emerging in the field of cognitive neuroscience and psychiatry that looks at using in vivo brain imaging techniques in humans to examine differences that might be associated with mental disorders," David Schnyer, a cognitive neuroscientist and professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, told Digital Trends.