Is there a future for depression digital motion constructs in psychiatry?

Psychomotor retardation has been recognized as a principal component of dep ression for centuries. Amongst symptoms and signs associated with depressio n, it is seen as having high predictive validity, correlating with severity of illness and the outcome of numerous therapeutic interventions. Of the t wo components "psycho" and "motor"-the psychological component has received the most thorough investigation and has been given the greatest considerat ion. The "motor" (or motion) component has been given little consideration. A review of the literature suggests few studies have attempted to quantita tively characterize this phenomenon or use it as anything more than one ind ice among other signs and symptoms of depression. Unlike other phenomena as sociated with depression, the use of motion alterations has lagged in signi ficance due to limited technology that would allow its study; depression ha s been seen predominantly as a "mood" disorder, with principal interest bei ng in the "feelings" associated with the disorder. Recent advances in motio n capture technologies allow motion alterations to be used for many purpose s, both quantitative and qualitative. These sources of information appear t o have direct and indirect impact. There is a fertile future for motion cap ture constructs in the study of depression, and recent technological advanc es will allow progress to occur in this area.