Depression Flashcards
What are the 2 main types of Depression?
Unipolar and Bipolar
Why is it different to schz?
its non-psychotic(the depressed person understands the difference between imagination and reality and recognises that their own depressed mood may be irrational or inappropriate, but can’t help feeling the way they do).
What type of response is Unipolar depression?
- can be reactive, a response to adverse life events or arise for no observable reason (endogenous depression as it has no apparent environment trigger).
Features of Depression
Unipolar depression is the most common mental health disorder. It affects 3.5 million people
in the UK. According to the British Psychological Society (BPS):
-Depression is more prevalent among women (30%) than men (15%)
-People in lower-income households are more likely to report depression compared to
wealthier households
What are the types of depression?
TIP: If the Examiner asks for “features” of depression,
describe its types, statistics, and the people it affects.
Do NOT describe symptoms.
My Mother Sends Post
- Mild Depression
- Major Depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Post-natal Depression
Type of depression
Minor depression
has a limited negative effect on your daily life.
type of depression
Major Depression
interferes with daily life - with eating, sleeping and other everyday activities.
Some people may experience only one episode of major depression, but others experience several episodes in a lifetime.
It can lead to hospital admission, if the person is at risk of harm to themselves.
type of depression
SAD
“Affect” is the psychological term for
moods/emotions, so an AFFECTIVE disorder is a mood disorder— SAD can last all winter
until longer days bring more daylight.
SAD can interfere with moods and with sleeping and eating patterns.
type of depression
Post-natal depression
is different from the ‘baby blues’. Post-
natal depression can leave new mothers feeling completely overwhelmed, with panic attacks or negative feelings towards their child.
It affects one in ten mothers and usually
begins two to three weeks after the birth.
Comparison of ICD-11 and DSM-5 - Differences
ICD11
- split into mild(4), moderate(5-6), severe (7+) for symptoms
- hopelessness about the future -> not mentioned in DSM
DSM divides to major(5+)/minor(2-4) depressive episodes
Comparison of ICD-11 and DSM-5 - Similarities
- Depressed mood (ICD) most of the day, nearly every day (DSM- all the sentance)
- Sig weight loss when not dieting or weigght gain, or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. (DSM) / sig changes in apetite or weight (ICD)
Symptoms of depression fall into four categories:
what are they?
A Coward Super Power
- Affective symptoms (emotional)
- Cognitive symptoms
- Social symptoms
- Physical symptoms (behavioural)
Affective symptoms (emotional)
depressed mood, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, pessimism about the future and a lack of interest in things that used to be enjoyable are all reported by people with depression. This is called negative affect.
Some sufferers experience anger, which can be directed at themselves, or others. Anger
can also lead to self-harming behaviours
Cognitive symptoms
other symptoms include fatigue, difficulty concentrating and indecisiveness (these are mental symptoms but they’re not to do with emotion). Some cases experience recurrent thoughts of self-harm, death or suicide.
Social symptoms
people with depression often abandon hobbies and pastimes, work and
study; they withdraw from relationships with friends and family.
Physical symptoms (behavioural)
people with depression often experience loss of appetite (or sometimes increased appetite) along with unexplained aches and pains; they
move and speak slowly and there are changes in their sleep patterns (some sleep all the
time, some can’t sleep at all).
McGuffin et al. (1996)
researched 177 twins suffering from depression. The concordance rate of major depressive disorder for MZ twins was 46% and for non- identical (DZ) twins was 20%. This shows that there is a heritability factor for major depression. There is a strong genetic component to major depressive disorder, and no evidence for it being caused by a shared family environment.
The Monoamine Hypothesis - Hirschfeld (2000)
What are monoamines?
are a group of neurotransmitters that regulate mood; they include serotonin, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and dopamine.
The Monoamine Hypothesis - Hirschfeld (2000)
Why is serotonin important?
it regulates the other neurotransmitters.
Without serotonin regulation,** brain functioning becomes erratic**.
The Monoamine Hypothesis - Hirschfeld (2000)
When serotonin levels are low?
levels of noradrenaline drop (noradrenaline provides attention and reward).
Low levels of noradrenaline are linked to a lack of pleasure.
The Monoamine Hypothesis - Hirschfeld (2000)
When serotonin levels are low?
levels of noradrenaline drop (noradrenaline provides attention and reward).
Low levels of noradrenaline are linked to a lack of pleasure.
What does low levels of serotonin cause?
causes dopamine levels to drop (related to alertness and energy). Low levels of dopamine are also linked to anxiety.
The monoamine hypothesis of mood disorders.
(b) In depression
fewer monoamine molecules are available for binding to receptors, leading to a mood disorder;
The monoamine hypothesis of mood disorders.
(a) In normal brain,
monoamine molecules are released and bind to receptors on the neighbouring neuron;
The monoamine hypothesis of mood disorders.
(c) Treatment with a reuptake inhibitor (the red shape blocking the reuptake transporter channel; here the SSRI Prozac’)
increases the number of monoamine molecules in the synaptic gap, so more are available to bind to receptors on the neighbouring neuron. This corrects the mood disorder.
Monoamine hypothesis
What are depressed mood states caused by?
low levels of noradrenaline or dopamine, but the key transmitter is serotonin, which controls the other two.
monoamine
What is the 5-HTT gene linked to?
regulating serotonin levels (5-HTT is the 5-HT transporter).
People with variations of the 5-HTT gene that are under-active seem more likely to suffer depression after stressful life events.
However, there may be a problem with the receptors that pick up the neurotransmitters when they cross the synapse from one neuron to another. If there aren’t enough receptors - or if the receptors are malfunctioning - this will have the same effect as a lack of the neurotransmitter.