Biological features of depression

Biological Theories of Depression and Implications for. What are the biological influences of depression? What is the brain chemistry of depression?

Great progress has been made in the understanding of brain function, the influence of neurotransmitters and hormones, and other biological processes, as well as how they may relate to the development of depression. People with depression appear to have physical changes in their brains. The significance of these changes is still uncertain, but may eventually help pinpoint causes.

Neurotransmitters are naturally occurring brain chemicals that likely play a role in depression. The physical symptoms of depression include: moving or speaking more slowly than usual. Norepinephrine helps our bodies to recognize and respond to stressful situations. The neurotransmitter dopamine is also linked to depression.

Imipramine binds to the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) on platelets, and it has been suggested that decreased platelet imipramine binding may be a putative biological marker of depressive disorder. A meta-analysis has shown that imipramine binding to platelets is indeed a robust biological marker of depression. Introduction to psychology - Depression and major depressive disorder.

Diagnosing bipolar disorder. Types of depression and bipolar disorder in the DSM5.

This is the currently selected item. Other symptoms, such as sleep and psychomotor disturbances , feelings of guilt, low self-esteem , suicidal tendencies , as well as autonomic and gastrointestinal disturbances , are also often present. Depression is not a homogeneous disorder, but a complex phenomenon, which has many subtypes and probably more than one etiology. A diagnosis of major depressive disorder can be made if a person suffers at least such episode (without ever experiencing mania).

The more bouts of depression a woman ha the smaller the hippocampus. Stress , which plays a role in depression, may be a key factor here, since experts believe stress can suppress the production of new neurons (nerve cells) in the hippocampus. The biological factors that contribute to depression include: Physical changes to the brain – it is known that some part of a depressed brain show less activity.

Hormones – hormone changes may. An abstract is unavailable. This article is available as a PDF only. A 8-mark “evaluate” question awards marks for describing biological explanations of unipolar depression (AO1) and marks for evaluating them with reference to treatment ( AO). You need a conclusion to get a mark in the top band (7-marks).

Description Unipolar depression has a biological explanation because it runs in families. Mathew RJ, Largen J, Claghorn JL. Frequency of occurrence of various biological symptoms in relation to intensity of depression and neuroticism was studied in depressed patients. The best indicator of depression severity and neuroticism were, respectively, early waking and excessive dreaming,.

This seems to be the case more so with certain types of mental illness, such as bipolar. These physical symptoms occur in nearly all body systems and are often the presenting features in the nonpsychiatric setting.

The most common physical symptoms are sleep disruption, fatigue, pain and discomfort, and appetite disturbance. Social interactions that are learned and change over the course of a lifetime. Depression is a mood disorder which prevents individuals from leading a normal life, at work socially or within their family.

It is the only approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a biological and thus physical point of view. Therefore, all that is psychological is first physiological.