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Circadian rhythms and sleep regulation in seasonal affective disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

A. Wirz-Justice ,
K. Kräuchi ,
D.P. Brunner ,
P. Graw ,
H.-J. Haug ,
G. Leonhardt ,
A. Sarrafzadeh ,
J. English  and
J. Arendt
J. English
Affiliation:
Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, UK
J. Arendt
Affiliation:
Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, UK
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Extract

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is characterised by recurrent episodes in autumn and winter of depression, hypersomnia, augmented appetite with carbohydrate craving, and weight gain, and can be successfully treated with bright light. Circadian rhythm hypotheses (summarized in) have stimulated research into the pathophysiology of SAD, postulating that:

  1. 1.The illness is a consequence of delayed phase position,

  2. 2.It is correlated with diminished circadian amplitude, or

  3. 3.It results from changes in the nocturnal duration between dusk and dawn e.g. of low core body temperature or melatonin secretion. Light is considered to act directly on the circadian pacemaker (‘Process C’) and not on sleep dependent processes (‘Process S’). Thus successful treatment of SAD must act via mechanisms within known retinohypothalamic pathways. Conversely, emergence of SAD symptoms may reflect inappropriate neurobiological response to decreasing daylength.

Keywords

winter depressionconstant routinemoodbody temperaturemelatoninsleep-EEGwinterdepressieconstant routinestemminglichaamstemperatuurmelatonineslaap-EEG
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , June 1995 , pp. 41 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 1995

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References

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