Researchers have developed a simple smartphone game that may help doctors identify depression much faster and more easily than traditional methods.
The new tool focuses on an important symptom of depression called anhedonia, which is the reduced ability to enjoy activities that once felt rewarding or pleasurable.
The study was led by scientists from NYU Langone Health and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers believe the game could eventually help doctors monitor mental health remotely and identify certain types of depression without requiring repeated clinic visits.
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the world. Millions of people live with it every day, and the condition can affect mood, motivation, sleep, relationships, work, and physical health. Some people experience deep sadness, while others mainly lose interest in activities they used to enjoy.
One of the most important symptoms of major depressive disorder is anhedonia. Around 70% of people with depression experience it. Someone with anhedonia may stop enjoying hobbies, social activities, food, music, or other experiences that once brought pleasure.
Doctors currently diagnose depression mainly through interviews, questionnaires, and discussions about symptoms.
While these methods are helpful, they can sometimes take time, require multiple appointments, and depend heavily on self-reporting. Scientists have therefore been searching for easier and more objective ways to study mental health.
The new research focused on how people with depression respond to rewards and make decisions. Earlier studies suggested that depression may affect the way the brain sets expectations about whether something will feel worthwhile or enjoyable.
The scientists designed a computer game to measure these changes. The game can be played remotely on a smartphone and takes only a few minutes to complete.
The study included 120 participants. Fifty of them had already been diagnosed with major depressive disorder using standard medical methods, while 70 participants did not have depression.
In the main part of the game, players tried to collect apples falling from digital trees. At first, each tree produced many apples, but over time the number slowly decreased. Players had to decide when it was no longer worth staying at the same tree and when they should move on to another one.
The researchers carefully tracked the point where participants decided to stop collecting apples from each tree.
Healthy participants usually continued collecting apples until the number dropped to around five apples. However, people with depression often gave up much earlier, sometimes when the tree was still producing eight or nine apples.
This suggested that people with depression stopped experiencing the activity as rewarding much sooner than healthy participants did. According to the researchers, this may reflect important changes in the brain systems involved in motivation, pleasure, and expectations.
The study also included a second experiment involving snack foods. Participants were asked to bid on snacks they liked. Scientists wanted to see how people adjusted their expectations when the choices around them changed.
Healthy participants adjusted their decisions over time as the environment changed. Their expectations shifted naturally and then returned to normal levels afterward. However, participants with depression had much more difficulty resetting their expectations.
The researchers described this as a kind of “stickiness” in the brain’s reward system. In other words, people with depression appeared less flexible when adapting to changing conditions.
Professor Paul W. Glimcher, one of the senior researchers, explained that the game may provide important clues about what is happening inside the brains of people with depression. He compared the goal to how doctors use blood pressure measurements to detect heart disease.
Another researcher involved in the study, Aadith Vittala, said the findings may eventually help scientists develop better treatments. Researchers are now exploring whether therapies or medications could help improve the brain’s ability to adjust expectations more normally.
The scientists also emphasized that depression is not the same for everyone. The condition may actually include several different subtypes with different underlying brain changes. Tools like this game may help doctors identify people with specific forms of depression linked to anhedonia.
One major advantage of the game is convenience. Because it can be played remotely on a smartphone, patients may eventually be able to complete short tests from home while doctors monitor symptoms and treatment progress more closely.
The researchers hope this approach could make mental health care more accessible and affordable in the future. Many people around the world struggle to access mental health specialists because of cost, distance, or shortages of trained professionals.
At the same time, the researchers stress that the game is still experimental and not yet a replacement for professional diagnosis or treatment. More studies are needed before it becomes part of routine medical care.
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Source: NYU Langone Health.
