Australians researchers have put out a call for 400 people to take part in a study on depression.
The researchers at the Millennium Institute's Brain Dynamics Centre (BDC) in Westmead, Sydney want volunteers willing to participate in a large global study which aims to pinpoint the biological indicators of depression.
The international $18 million project will hopefully lead to the first clinical tests for the mental illness and the development of personalised treatments.
Researchers in Sydney and Adelaide say the international study will be the first of its kind and will hopefully reduce the time it takes doctors to find suitable treatments.
The director of Sydney's Brain Dynamics Centre, Professor Lea Williams, says unlike other health problems there are no tests to help decide the best treatment and the process becomes one of trial and error and can mean the depression can be prolonged until the right treatment is found.
The study aims to predict responses to a range of medications by identifying a person's unique physical and mental characteristics, 200 volunteers are being recruited to take part in the study in Adelaide and 200 in Sydney and all will be assessed before and eight weeks after starting medication.
In total 2,000 people across 20 research centres will be involved in the 'International Study to Predict Optimised Treatment in Depression (iSPOT-D)'.
The Brain Dynamics Centre (BDC) is a network of centres and units which carries out research on the healthy brain and disorders of brain function - the BDC says it's approach is one of 'integrative neuroscience' which brings together clinical observations, theory, and modern imaging technologies.