A method for facilitating diagnosis of an affective disorder in a person can include (a) acquiring 1H spectroscopic data to obtain an indicator of total choline (tCho) and creatine (Cr) in an area, e.g., the anterior cingulate cortex, of the persons brain and (b) determining, by a processor and based on the indicator, at least one of (i) a likely diagnosis of bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder, or (ii) a probability of bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder, in the person.
