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PSY2013- Biological Psychology with Research Methods 2 > 6- Depression > Flashcards

6- Depression Flashcards

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1
Q

What type of disorder is depression?

A

A common and serious mood disorder

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2
Q

3 main symptoms associated with depression

A
  • Persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness
  • Anhedonia
  • Physical symptoms
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3
Q

What is anhedonia?

A

Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed

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4
Q

How are physical symptoms also referred to?

A

Somatic symptoms

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5
Q

What key function is often affected in depression?

A

Sleep

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6
Q

How is depression diagnosed by the DSM-5?

A

Someone must be experiencing significant symptoms for at least 2 weeks, and these must include a depressed mood and/or loss of interest/pleasure

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7
Q

3 other symptoms associated with depression

A
  • Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
  • Diminished ability to think/concentrate
  • Fatigue
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8
Q

What must symptoms cause the individual for a DSM-5 depression diagnosis?

A

Clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning that are important

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9
Q

What must symptoms not be for a DSM-5 depression symptoms?

A

Must not be a result of substance abuse or another medical condition

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10
Q

What is the lifetime prevalence of depression?

A

15-20%

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11
Q

What is 12-month depression prevalence?

A

About 7%

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12
Q

How much is prevalence increased among those between 18-29 than among those aged 60+?

A

3 times higher

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13
Q

How much higher are prevalence rates for women than men?

A

About 1.5-3 times higher

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14
Q

What is the recent trends in depression prevalence?

A

Increasing

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15
Q

What is major depressive disorder associated with?

A

High mortality

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16
Q

How is the HPA axis activated?

A

By a physical or emotional stressor

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17
Q

How is the HPA axis thought to be affected in depression?

A

Less well-regulated

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18
Q

How do cortisol levels appear to be in depression?

A

Increased and not regulated normally

19
Q

Why is more cortisol released from adrenal glands in depression?

A

Caused by more release of adrenocorticotropin hormone from the pituitary gland due to the hypothalamus secreting higher levels of corticotropin-releasing factor

20
Q

What do MRI studies show in patients with depression?

A

Reduced hippocampal volume

21
Q

What does the hippocampus have a high number of?

A

Cortisol receptors

22
Q

What is persistently elevated cortisol levels thought to lead to?

A

Hippocampal damage

23
Q

Why does hippocampal damage further impair cortisol feedback and regulation?

A

As the hippocampus function is to regulate and inhibit the HPA axis

24
Q

What may longer durations of untreated depressive episodes correlate with?

A

Reductions in hippocampal volume

25
Q

What could hippocampal damage also explain in depression?

A

Why memory and other cognitive functions are impaired in depression

26
Q

What does anhedonia suggest?

A

A dysregulation in reward processing

27
Q

Where is the brain’s reward circuit?

A

Mesolimbic dopamine circuit

28
Q

What is seen in the reward circuit in major depressive disorder?

A

‘Blunted’ activity

29
Q

What can the pattern in the reward circuit predict in depression?

A

Which individuals go on to have a depressive episode

30
Q

What last-resort treatment alleviates symptoms among patients who don’t respond to drug treatments?

A

Deep brain stimulation of the Nucleus Accumbens

31
Q

What neurotransmitter system play a role in regulating many depression functions?

A

Serotonin

32
Q

Where are reduced serotonin receptors seen in depressed patients?

A

In the frontal cortex and hippocampal regions

33
Q

What are the most commonly prescribed medications to treat depression?

A

SSRIs

34
Q

How do SSRIs work?

A

By inhibiting serotonin reuptake and increasing serotonin levels

35
Q

What is the effect of serotonin transporters (SERT) being inhibited?

A

These transporters recycle serotonin back into the presynaptic terminal causing an increased amount of serotonin to remain in the synaptic cleft and stimulating the postsynaptic receptors for a more extended period

36
Q

How does increasing serotonin activity alleviate depression symptoms?

A

Improves patients’ mood and energy levels

37
Q

What extra effect do SSRIs have?

A

Thought to protect and regenerate the hippocampus

38
Q

What does SSRI treatment do in the hippocampus?

A

Stimulate growth of new neurons (neurogenesis)

39
Q

What can explain why SSRIs take up to 1 month for a full effect?

A

Neurogenesis takes many weeks

40
Q

How is depression defined?

A

An extended period of depressed mood and/or anhedonia

41
Q

What does HPA axis dysregulation lead to?

A

Persistently elevated cortisol levels that cause hippocampal damage

42
Q

What could explain anhedonia?

A

Blunted response within the reward circuit

43
Q

What is the main depression treatment?

A

With SSRIs

44
Q

What is the effect of SSRIs?

A

Compensate for serotonin system dysregulation and also help repair the hippocampus

PSY2013- Biological Psychology with Research Methods 2 (37 decks)

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