Distinct subtypes of depression presenting with characteristic symptom clusters have different neuroanatomical and neurochemical background, and these subtypes behave differently also pharmacologically. Based on the neurocircuitry theory, several studies investigated the possible neuroanatomical and neurochemical substrates of major depressive symptoms. Our team has developed a new scale, the Depression Profile that incorporates symptoms associated with depression forming symptom clusters that can be mapped to different neurotransmitter systems.

339 major depressive patients completed the original 90-item structure of Depression Profile. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis was used to establish the final structure. The external validity of the new structure was tested against the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and Sheehan Patient Rated Anxiety Scale.

After exploratory factor analysis the number of items decreased to 67. Reliability of the new structure proved to be very good and its construct validity was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent validity testing of the new structure showed average correlation with the two other questionnaires.

Current depression scales do not provide for the separate in-depth screening of depressive symptom clusters associated with different neurotransmitter systems playing a role in depression. We attempted to develop a new depression scale separately assessing depressive symptom clusters reflecting the activity of different neurotransmitter systems. First psychometric tests indicate that our scale is a promising instrument for decomposing depression to subtypes with different neurochemical backgrounds, which would make it a useful tool in selecting a tailor-made pharmacological treatment for each patient that most effectively treats their depressive symptoms.