Antianxiety, Antidepression Flashcards
What are some charactertistics of affective disorders?
- Disorders of mood
- Affect 10-20% of Americans
- More women than men
What is Unipolar Depression?
One or more prolonged episodes of depression measured in weeks
What are common signs of depression seen in old and young people?
- Old - insomnia
- Young - sleep
What are the 2 subtypes of Unipolar Depression?
- Primary Depression (endogenous)
- Secondary Depression (exogenous)
What are the characteristics of primary depression?
- Chemical imbalance
- Responds to antidepressents
What are the characteristics of secondary depression?
- Chronologically occurs with pre-existing nonaffective disorders, and develops because of nonaffective disorders
How is bipolar disorder classified?
Manic-depressive disorder - wide swings in mood from depressions to mania
Comorbidity between anxiety disorders and major depression exceeds _____?
50%
What are some causes of depression?
- Imbalance in neurotransmitters
- Low levels of serotonin
What does serotonin do and how does it relate to symptoms of depression?
- Elevates mood
- Helps fall asleep and have good sleep
- Helps you feel full after eating
Symptoms of depression - follow same pattern:
- Depressed mood
- Sleep disturbances
- Fluctuations in weight
What are affective disorders associated with, concerning their etiology?
Noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmission in the brain
What is the biogenic amine hypothesis for affective disorders?
- Depressions related to decreased levels of synaptically released norepinephrine and or serotonin in brain
- Mania is a result of an excess of these transmitters
What’s the limitation of the biogenic amine hypothesis for affective disorders?
- While antidepressents increase extracellular levels of neurotransmitters almost immediately, but their therapeutic effects are seen only after several weeks of treatment. (6-8 weeks)
- Improves receptor function - an additional theory
