In a series of studies of psychiatric patients ascertained shortly after hospital
admission, we investigated the time course of recovery from depression by
quantifying changes in psychopathology syndrome scores over time and by parallel
assessment of speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics.
Our analyses yielded no indication of a delayed onset of action of antidepressants.
The onset of improvement occurred in the great majority of patients (79.1%) within the
first 12 days of treatment. Early improvement was highly predictive of later outcome,
since 67.6% of the patients showing improvement within the first 12 days were responders
at the end of the observation period. Inversely, 92% of the responders at the end of the
observation period exhibited an onset of improvement within the first 12 days. Early
improvement could not be attributed to a few HAMD items, because score reductions were
observed for virtually all items at early stages of treatment.
The analysis of the patients’ speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics yielded,
in 62.8% of the cases, an essentially parallel development over time for the HAMD scores
on the one hand, and acoustic variables on the other. The time course of improvement
thus appeared to have a strong biological component and was unlikely to be attributable
to the expectations of doctors and patients.
Moragrega I, Bridler R, Mohr C, Possenti M, Rochat D, Sanchez Parramon J, Stassen HH:
Monitoring Mental Health and the Effects of Therapeutic Interventions through Self-Assessment
Voice Analyses. Res Psychother. 2021, 24(3): 250-262
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Stassen HH, Bachmann S, Bridler R, Cattapan K, Herzig D, Schneeberger A, Seifritz E:
Detailing the Effects of Polypharmacy in Psychiatry: Longitudinal Study of 320 Patients
Hospitalized for Depression or Schizophrenia. Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2022; 272(4): 603-619
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Braun S, Annovazzi C, Botella C, Bridler B, Camussi E, Delfino JP, Mohr C, Moragrega I,
Papagno C, Pisoni A, Soler C, Seifritz E, Stassen HH: Assessing Chronic Stress, Coping
Skills and Mood Disorders through Speech Analysis. A Self- Assessment “Voice App” for Laptops,
Tablets, and Smartphones. Psychopathology 2016; 49(6): 406-419
Mohr C, Braun S, Bridler R, Chmetz F, Delfino JP, Kluckner VJ, Lott P, Schrag Y, Seifritz E, Stassen HH:
Insufficient Coping Behavior under Chronic Stress and Vulnerability to Psychiatric Disorders.
Psychopathology 2014; 47: 235-243
Stassen HH, Anghelescu IG, Angst J, Böker H, Lötscher K, Rujescu D, Szegedi A, Scharfetter C:
Predicting Response to Psychopharmacological Treatment. Survey of Recent Results.
Pharmacopsychiatry 2011; 44: 263-272
Stassen HH, Angst J, Hell D, Scharfetter C, Szegedi A: Is there a common resilience mechanism
underlying antidepressant drug response? Evidence from 2848 patients. J Clin Psychiatry
2007; 68(8): 1195-1205