Depression Flashcards
What are two types of depression?
- Unipolar depression
- Bipolar Manic/major depression
What is unipolar depression?
Diagnosed when the sufferer only exhibits one mood only.
What is bipolar/manic depression?
Diagnosed when the sufferer has episodes of mania/behaves in more than one way and alternates between them.
What are the 3 classes of antidepressants?
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
- Tricyclic
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)
What is ECT and how does it work?
Electroconvulsive shock therapy.
Electrodes attached to patients’ cranium, large voltages are applied, causing the patients to seizure. When the arise, they feel a lot better.
What is the American term for Noradrenalin?
Norepinephrine (NE)
What are SSRIs and how do they work?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
They block the reuptake of serotonin, causing levels of 5-HT in the synapse to increase.
Where are noradrenalin cell bodies located?
The locus coeruleus
Where are serotonin cell bodies located?
The dorsal raphe.
What is the precursor for serotonin?
Tryptophan
What is the enzyme which converts tryptophan to serotonin?
Tryptophan hydroxylase.
What are 3 examples of SSRIs?
- Prozac (fluoxetine)
- Citalopram (celexa)
- Paroxetine (paxil)
What are MAOIs and how do they work?
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors. They stop or reduce the action of monoamine oxidase enzymes, which break down excess monoamines in the terminal button. This means that MAOIs increase the levels of monoamines in the synapse.
Which monoamines do MAOIs work on?
Noradrenalin, serotonin and dopamine.
Which monoamines do Tricyclics affect?
Serotonin and noradrenalin.
What do tricyclics do?
Inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and noradrenalin.
What is currently known as the most influential monoamine in depression?
Serotonin (5-HT)
What is the evidence for the role of 5-HT in depression?
The study which used treated depression patients - they were given a low tryptophan diet and relapsed into depression. They were then placed on a normal diet which contained tryptophan, which was followed by an increase in mood.
What is the monoamine hypothesis of depression?
Suggests that depression is caused by a lack of activity in monoaminergic neurons. Apart from dopamine, which has been shown to have only a minor role.
How many treatments of ECT are typically required before improvements are seen?
6-12
What are the intracellular events associated with depression medications?
- Neurotransmitter binds to metabotropic receptor.
- Change in second messenger (cAMP)
- cAMP can enter nucleus and activate specific genes.
