Leanne Williams is an expert in depression. The first thing that she wants the world to know is that depression is not some sort of character flaw, but a real illness with symptoms that can impair one’s ability to function day to day. The past decade has seen remarkable advances, she says, as functional MRI has opened new avenues of understanding depression’s mechanisms and its treatments. These are hopeful times for the science of depression, Williams tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Episode Reference Links:

• Stanford Profile:  Leanne Williams

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• Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Leanne Williams, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stanford University.

(00:02:13) What Is Depression?

Distinguishing clinical depression from everyday sadness.

(00:04:02) Current Depression Treatment Challenges

The trial-and-error of traditional depression treatments and their extended timelines.

(00:06:46) Brain Mapping and Circuit Dysfunctions

Advanced imaging techniques and their role in understanding depression.

(00:09:33) Diagnosing with Brain Imaging

How brain imaging can complement traditional diagnostic methods in psychiatry.

(00:10:52) Depression Biotypes

Identifying six distinct biotypes of depression through brain imaging

(00:14:41) Biotypes and Personalized Treatments

How biotypes allow for targeted therapies and improve treatment outcomes.

(00:19:33) AI in Depression Treatment

Using AI to refine biotypes and predict treatment outcomes with greater accuracy.

(00:22:45) Psychedelics in Depression Treatment

The potential for psychedelic drugs to target specific biotypes of depression.

(00:24:16) Expanding the Biotypes Framework

Integrating multimodal approaches into the biotype framework.

(00:27:59) Reducing Stigma in Depression

How showing patients their brain imaging results reduces self-blame and stigma.

(00:30:08) Conclusion

Connect With Us:

Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website

Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon

Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook