REVIEW article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1667639
The role of brain creatine in behavioral health conditions
Provisionally accepted
Ellie Seunga Han1,2*
James Yancey1,2
Deborah Yurgelun-Todd1,2
Douglas Kondo1,2
Danielle J Boxer1,2Perry Renshaw1,2- 1The University of Utah Diagnostic Neuroimaging Lab, Salt Lake City, United States
- 2Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, Salt Lake City, United States
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Creatine, as a naturally occurring organic compound, has gained attention for its potential role in psychiatric health. The creatine kinase-phosphocreatine energy buffer system plays a crucial role in maintaining energy supply in the brain. Brain bioenergetic deficits, particularly those related to mitochondrial dysfunction, plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric illnesses. A growing body of literature has focused on the potential therapeutic role of creatine supplementation in psychiatric illnesses. This review summarizes findings from preclinical, epidemiological, clinical and neuroimaging studies to examine creatine's role as both a biomarker and therapeutic agent in psychiatric disorders, including Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Substance Use Disorder.
Keywords: Creatine, Major Depressive Disorder, substance use disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, Anxiety disorder
Received: 16 Jul 2025; Accepted: 16 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Han, Yancey, Yurgelun-Todd, Kondo, Boxer and Renshaw. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ellie Seunga Han, sahan0719@gmail.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.