Project 178220

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the leading cause of disability worldwide among individuals age 15 years and older, with women responding more poorly to antidepressant medical treatments than men. This gender difference is posited to be due to the fact that women show higher levels of anxiety, rumination and somatisation, making them more likely to develop recurrent episodes of MDD. With more people turning towards complementary and alternative therapies (i.e., massage, meditation, acupuncture), in addition to conventional antidepressant treatments, further examination of this therapeutic treatment option is necessary. With access to the outpatient population of individuals suffering from MDD and generalized anxiety disorder (at the Royal Ottawa Hospital), we will assess whether massage therapy alone has time-dependent clinical effects or if the treatment enhances the efficacy of antidepressant treatments. We will use fMRI to evaluate changes in limbic and cortical neuronal activity. Bioassays will be conducted to assess serum levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, and a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines (immune factors) that were previously found to be related to the severity of depressive symptoms. This research will have major implications in the implementation of complementary and alternative therapeutic treatment options in enhancing the time in the remittance stage of the disorder.