Chapter 19: Affective Disorders Flashcards
adoption study
Study used to understand how heredity contributes to a disorder by comparing the incidence of the disorder in the biological and adoptive parents of people adopted at an early age who have the disorder. A higher incidence of the disorder among biological parents than adoptive parents suggests a hereditary influence.
behavioral despair
Technique used to measure depression in animals by placing them in a cylinder of water from which they cannot escape and recording the time it takes for them to abandon attempts to escape.
bipolar disorder
Type of affective disorder characterized by extreme mood swings between depression and mania.
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
Protein of the CNS that stimulates cell proliferation, aids in cell survival and synaptic restructuring. It is also implicated in the neurotrophic hypothesis of depression.
carbamazepine (Tegretol)
An anticonvulsant drug used to treat bipolar disorde
challenge study
Method to indirectly measure receptor function by recording the magnitude of a biological response to an agonist or antagonist.
chronic mild unpredictable stress
Rodent model of depression created by exposing animals to a series of stressful events in an unpredictable fashion.
chronic social defeat stress
Rodent model of depression created by the intense stress of being repeatedly placed as an intruder in a cage with a resident animal.
dexamethasone
A synthetic corticosteroid used to test the function of the negative feedback mechanism regulating the HPA axis.
dual NE/5-HT modulators
Antidepressants that enhance both NE and 5-HT function.
forced swim test
Technique used to measure depression in animals by placing them in a cylinder of water from which they cannot escape and recording the time it takes for them to abandon attempts to escape.
glucocorticoid hypothesis
Theory that elevated glucocorticoid levels accelerate cell damage and lead to the cognitive symptoms of depression.
5-HT transporter (SERT)
Protein in the membrane that is responsible for 5-HT reuptake from the synaptic cleft.
imaging techniques
Technology that permits the visualization of the living human brain, including CT, MRI, PET, fMRI, and SPECT.
learned helplessness
A classic screening device for antidepressant drugs. After being subjected to periods of unescapable foot shock, rodents fail to respond when given the opportunity to alter an aversive event. Antidepressant drugs increase appropriate responding.
linkage study
Method used to locate genes responsible for a disorder, such as alcoholism or schizophrenia, by comparing similarities in the genetic loci of families with affected members.
lithium carbonate
Drug that stabilizes moods, preventing episodes of mania and depression, in people with bipolar disorder.
major depression
Type of affective disorder characterized by extreme recurring episodes of dysphoria and negative thinking that are reflected in behavior.
MAO inhibitors (MAOIs)
Class of drugs that inhibit monoamine oxidase (MAO), thereby causing an accumulation of catecholamines and serotonin in the brain. They are often used to treat clinical depression.
maternal separation
Technique used to test the role of early-life stress as a factor in the development of depression, substance abuse, and other psychopathology. Week-old animals are separated from their mothers for brief periods daily.
monoamine hypothesis
Theory that a reduced level of monoamines in the CNS will cause depressed moods, including clinical depression.
phosphodiesterase (PDE)
the enzyme that normally degrades cAMP to 5′-AMP.
reactive depression
State of sadness that is appropriate and of a reasonable level in response to a given aversive situation. Not usually considered a clinical condition.
reserpine-induced sedation
Animal testing method used to identify clinically useful antidepressant drugs.
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Anti-depressants used to treat major depression, panic and anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obesity, and alcoholism by blocking the presynaptic membrane transporter for 5-HT.
serotonin syndrome
Effects associated with an overdose of SSRIs or serotonergic agonists, including severe agitation, disorientation, confusion, ataxia, muscle spasms, fever, shivering, chills, diarrhea, elevated blood pressure, and increased heart rate.
sleep deprivation
Lack of proper sleep, either unintentional (e.g., jet lag), or intentional (such as can be used to relieve clinical depression in human patients).
tail suspension test
Used in the study of animal models for affective disorders; mice are suspended by the tail from a lever, and the duration of movements (a period of agitation followed by immobility) is recorded. Antidepressant drugs prolong the active struggling.
tianeptine
Tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) that modulates glutamate function.
tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
Class of antidepressants characterized by a three-ring structure. They block reuptake of NE and 5-HT, thereby increasing their concentration in the synaptic cleft.
tryptophan depletion challenge
Research method used to investigate the role of serotonin in depressive disorders, in which subjects consume a tryptophan-deficient amino acid cocktail that transiently reduces 5-HT level in the brain.
turnover
Index of neurotransmitter activity, typically obtained by determining the level or rate of production of one or more metabolites for that transmitter.
twin studies
Studies used to understand how heredity contributes to a disorder by comparing the concordance rate for the disorder in pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins.
valproate (Depakote)
Simple branched-chain fatty acid that was the first anticonvulsant approved by the U.S. FDA for treatment of acute mania.
