Machine learning failed to find biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder

Neuroscience still cannot find biomarkers for mental illness

A January 2024 study using machine learning analysis of neuroscience findings failed to find any biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder.

Winter NR, Blanke J, Leenings R, et al. A Systematic Evaluation of Machine Learning–Based Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. January 10, 2024. ¹

The study involved 1801 participants with 865 diagnosed as having Major Depressive Disorder and 945 as a healthy control sample.

Despite the use of a variety of neuroimaging techniques and machine learning to improve the analysis of results, nothing was found that was useful as a biomarker of any supposed disease.

“…no informative individual-level MDD (major depressive disorder) biomarker—even under extensive ML (machine learning) optimization in a large sample of diagnosed patients—could be identified.”

Winter NR, Blanke J, Leenings R, et al. A Systematic Evaluation of Machine Learning–Based Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry.

Study Importance

As mentioned in the study:

“Biological psychiatry aims to understand mental disorders in terms of altered neurobiological pathways. However, for one of the most prevalent and disabling mental disorders, major depressive disorder (MDD), no informative biomarkers have been identified.”

Winter NR, Blanke J, Leenings R, et al. A Systematic Evaluation of Machine Learning–Based Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry.

This study continues a long sequence of similar investigations that have failed to provide any validation of the disease theory of ‘biological psychiatry’.

It has long been acknowledged that psychiatry needs evidence to prove ‘biological psychiatry’ as anything more than opinions.

And still does.

Neuroscience is failing psychiatry

“Unfortunately, it is still not possible to cite a single neuroscience or genetic finding that has been of use to the practicing psychiatrist in managing these illnesses despite attempts to suggest the contrary.” …

5. No psychiatry, you can’t take over the world

All through psychiatry’s history there have been attempts to manipulate and control aspects of society way beyond any clinical address and based solely on the opinions of psychiatrists and others …

1. Winter NR, Blanke J, Leenings R, et al. A Systematic Evaluation of Machine Learning–Based Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. January 10, 2024. ↩︎