Circadian rhythms in depression and recovery: Evidence for blunted amplitude as the main chronobiological abnormality

doi:10.1016/0165-1781(89)90207-2

Psychiatry Research

Volume 28, Issue 3, June 1989, Pages 263-278

https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(89)90207-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

Circadian rhythms of body temperature, plasma cortisol, norepinephrine (NE), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and melatonin were compared in 16 endogenously depressed, 15 recovered (after 3 weeks of anti- depressant treatment), and 16 normal subjects. The depressed patients showed clear circadian rhythm abnormalities, consisting mainly in amplitude reduction. This amplitude reduction was significantly correlated with the patients' Hamilton depression scores. Normal circadian profiles were restored after recovery when amplitude, in particular, was increased. Features of the circadian rhythms observed in remission may be associated with antidepressant drug effects, whereas those observed in depression resemble the circadian rhythms observed in normal subjects living under conditions of temporal isolation and those of blind subjects. Our findings suggest that depression may be related both to a weakening of the coupling processes between internal pacemakers and to an abnormal sensitivity to environmental information.

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^∗: Eric Souêtre, M.D., Ph.D., is Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA, and Chef de clinique, Assistante des Hôpitaux at the Clinique de Psychiatrie et de Psychologie Médicale, Nice, France. Edouard Salvati, M.D., is Assistante des Hôpitaux; Jean-Luc Belugou, M.D., is on the staff; and Dominique Pringuey, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Clinique de Psychiatrie et de Psychologie Médicale, Nice, France. Mirande Candito, Ph.D., is Assistant at the Biochemistry Laboratory, Nice, France. Jean-Luc Ardisson, M.D., is Professor of Physiology, Medical University of Nice, France. Bernard Krebs, M.D., is Assistant at the RAI Laboratory, Nice, France. Guy Darcourt, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry at the Clinique de Psychiatrie et de Psychologie Médicale, Nice, France.

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Circadian rhythms in depression and recovery: Evidence for blunted amplitude as the main chronobiological abnormality

Abstract

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Journal of Affective Disorders

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Biological Psychiatry

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Psychiatry Research

Life Sciences

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology

Psychoendocrinology

Psychiatriy Research

Biological Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry

Journal of Affective Disorders

Journal of Immunological Methods

DSM-III: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Alleviation of jet lag by melatonin: Preliminary results of controlled double blind trial

British Medical Journal

The circadian system of man

Freerunning and entrained circadian rhythms

A chronobiological study of melatonin and cortisol secretions in depressed subjects

Biological Psychiatry

Ontogeny of circadian rhythms

Patterns of melatonin rhythms in depression

Journal of Neural Transmission

Thyrotropin nycthemeral pattern in primary depression

Life Sciences

Syncronization of a circadian rhythm in pinealectomized European starlings by daily injections of melatonin

Journal of Comparative Physiology

Physiologic considerations underlying rhythmometry with special reference to emotional illness

Cortisol secretion in endogenous depression

Archives of General Psychiatry

A rating scale for depression

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry

Effect of lithium carbonate on circadian periodicity in humans

Pharmacopsychiatry

Twenty-four-hour serum levels of TSH in affective disorders

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

Supersensitivity to light: A possible trait marker for manic depressive illness

American Journal of Psychiatry

24-hour profiles of adrenocorticotropin, cortisol and growth hormone in major depressive illness: Effect of antidepressant treatment

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism