Ebook: The Origins of Depression: Current Concepts and Approaches: Report of the Dahlem Workshop on The Origins of Depression: Current Concepts and Approaches Berlin 1982, Oct.31 – Nov. 5

3 and a fraction mayor may not respond to treatment. On the behavioral level, animal research shows that a variety of experimental conditions can induce de­ pression. The same is true in the field of treatment, where pharmacologically highly different drugs can equally alleviate depression in animals and hu­ mans. The question as to whether this is due to a heterogeneity of depressive subjects based on different pathogenetic mechanisms is open to discussion. We can look for common features of all possible causal factors in the hope of finding a single basic mechanism. Many divergent findings may also be ex­ plained as peripheral changes of a highly complicated dynamic system. In the field of psychopharmacology, a circular reasoning has become evident in the sense that originally the clinical antidepressive response was founded on empirical grounds only. In a second step, an attempt was made to characterize some clinically active compounds pharmacologically, and in a third, further compounds were developed based on aspects of the pharmaco­ logical profiles. Moreover, the post hoc development of a pharmacological screening method has the serious disadvantage of delaying breakthroughs into new fields.

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-x
Introduction....Pages 1-3
The Scope of Depression....Pages 5-25
The Epidemiology of Bipolar and Nonbipolar Depression: Rates and Risks....Pages 27-37
Depression and Affective Disorder in Later Life....Pages 39-75
Gender and Depression....Pages 77-89
Recent Life Events and Depression....Pages 91-106
Vulnerability to Depression: The Lack of Social Support does not Cause Depression....Pages 107-119
Stress, Conflict, and Depression....Pages 121-132
Separation Models and Depression....Pages 133-145
Learned Helplessness — An Animal Model Revisited....Pages 147-161
Neurobiologic Dimensions of Depression and Mania....Pages 163-186
Current Status of Genetic Research in Affective Disorders....Pages 187-204
Neuroendocrine Function in Depression....Pages 205-220
Opioid Systems and the Regulation of Mood: Possible Significance in Depression?....Pages 221-234
Neurophysiologic Studies of Depression: State of the Art....Pages 235-252
Chronobiology of Depression....Pages 253-271
New Research Techniques for Studying the Functional Anatomy of Depression....Pages 273-295
Depression and Altered Neurotransmission — States, Traits, and Interactions....Pages 297-311
Pharmacological Models of Depression....Pages 313-330
Heuristically Important Mood-Altering Drugs....Pages 331-349
Mode of Action of Antidepressant Drugs — Primary Effects....Pages 351-365
Mode of Action of Antidepressant Agents and ECT — Adaptive Changes after Subchronic Treatment....Pages 367-383
Risk Factors....Pages 384-403
Animal Models....Pages 404-423
Functional Indices of Biological Disturbance....Pages 424-445
Neurotransmission....Pages 446-457
Back Matter....Pages 458-472