Depression Flashcards
What is neurology?
→ Branch of medicine, diagnosis & treatment of nervous system disorders
What is psychiatry?
→ Branch of medicine, diagnosis & treatment of disorders that affect the mind and psyche
What is human behaviour a product of?
→ Product of brain activity
What is the brain a product of?
→ Genetics and environment
→ Experience
What is depressive disorder?
→ A low state marked by significant levels of sadness → lack of energy → low self worth → Guilt → related syndromes
What is a major depressive disorder?
→ A severe pattern of depression that is disabling and not caused by factors such as drugs or a medical condition
What are characteristics of affective disorders?
→ Disorders of mood rather than thought/cognition
What is unipolar depression?
→ mood swings in one direction
→ most common depressive illness
How many unipolar depression cases are caused by the environment?
→ 75%
How many cases of unipolar depression are caused by genetics?
→ 25%
What is bipolar depression?
→ Oscillation between depression and mania
What is mania?
→ Excessive exuberance → enthusiasm → self confidence →impulsive actions → aggression → irritability → delusions of grandiose
What are the criteria used for depression diagnosis?
→ DSM-IV or ICD-10
What are the criteria for depression?
→ Five or more of the symptoms during the same 2 week period
What are the emotional symptoms of depression?
→ Apathy → pessimism → negativity → low self esteem → feeling guilty → loss of motivation → indecisiveness
What are the biological symptoms of depression?
→ Reduced activity
→ Loss of libido
→ Sleep disturbance
→ Loss of appetite
What are the animal models of depression?
→ Learned helplessness
→ mother infant separation is reversed by antidepressants
What is the gender bias in depression?
→ It affects twice as many females as males
What is the lifetime prevalence of depression in men and women?
→ 10-25% in women
→ 5-12% in men
When does the first depressive episode happen?
→ late adolescence
→ early adulthood