Circadian Rhythms and Mood Disorders: Are The Phenomena and Mechanisms Causally Related?

Frontiers in Psychiatry

William eBechtel¹ 

[1] University of California, San Diego;

关键词: Bipolar Disorder;    Mood Disorders;    circadian rhythms;    Major depressive disorder (MDD);    Mechanistic explanations;    causal relations between mechanisms;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00118

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This paper reviews some of the compelling evidence of disrupted circadian rhythms in individuals with mood disorders (major depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and bipolar disorder) and that treatments such as bright light, designed to alter circadian rhythms, are effective in treating these disorders. Neurotransmitters in brain regions implicated in mood regulation exhibit circadian rhythms. A mouse model originally employed to identify a circadian gene has proven a potent model for mania. While this evidence is suggestive of an etiological role for altered circadian rhythms in mood disorders, it is compatible with other explanations, including that disrupted circadian rhythms and mood disorders are effects of a common cause and that genes and proteins implicated in both simply have pleiotropic effects. In light of this, the paper advances a proposal as to what evidence would be needed to establish a direct causal link between disruption of circadian rhythms and mood disorders.

【 授权许可】

Unknown