The New York Times briefly reported the findings of a study which examines the effectiveness of therapy and medication on depression.

The cognitive therapy provided for the patients aimed to reduce depression by teaching them to recognize and derail negative habits of thought.

The study’s senior author, Dr. Helen Mayberg of the Rotman Research Institute of Toronto, said scientists had speculated that the therapy had a “top down” action on the brain: changes beginning in the cortex, the area dealing with higher reasoning, go on to affect other areas of more basic functioning.

By contrast, research has suggested that antidepressants work as “bottom up” agents, working first on areas like the limbic system that play a big role in memory and basic emotions.

This study helped explain why some people respond better to combined treatments — they affect areas in which there is little overlap.