This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Early Timing (Phase-Advance) in Manic-Depressives Compared With Normal Subjects

Thomas A. Wehr, MD; Giovanni Muscettola, MD; Frederick K. Goodwin, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1980;37(3):257-263.

Abstract
• Twenty-four-hour (circadian) rhythms in urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) excretion, motor activity, and oral temperature were studied in 14 normal subjects and ten manic-depressive patients. In both groups, a daily rhythm in MHPG excretion was present, with daytime peaks and nighttime lows. This pattern of urinary MHPG excretion may reflect a rhythm in central noradrenergic function. The physiological changes in levels of MHPG excretion associated with the circadian rhythm were at least as great as pathological changes associated with manic-depressive illness. Compared with controls, the timing or phase of circadian rhythms in each variable was one to three hours earlier in the patients, whether depressed or manic. Although the presence of circadian rhythms complicates the task of designing clinical research procedures, their early timing in manic-depressives suggests that disturbances in central biological clocks may be an integral part of the pathophysiology of affective illness and may be related to disturbances of sleep and neuroendocrine function associated with depression.

Author Affiliations
From the Clinical Psychobiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md (Drs Wehr and Goodwin), and the Second Medical School, University of Naples, Italy (Dr Muscettola).

Footnotes
Accepted for publication June 29, 1979.

Reprint requests to Clinical Psychobiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bldg 10, Room 4S239, Bethesda, MD 20205 (Dr Wehr).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Temperature Circadian Rhythms during the Menstrual Cycle and Sleep Deprivation in Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and Normal Comparison Subjects
Parry et al.
J Biol Rhythms 1997;12:34-46.
ABSTRACT  

Circadian Rest-Activity Disturbances in Seasonal Affective Disorder
Teicher et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997;54:124-130.
ABSTRACT  

Increased Activity and Phase Delay in Circadian Motility Rhythms in Geriatric Depression: Preliminary Observations
Teicher et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1988;45:913-917.
ABSTRACT  

The Diurnal Variation in Plasma Homovanillic Acid Level Persists but the Variation in 3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol Level Is Abolished Under Constant Conditions
Sack et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1988;45:162-166.
ABSTRACT  

Lithium Carbonate Treatment of Mania: Cerebrospinal Fluid and Urinary Monoamine Metabolites and Treatment Outcome
Swann et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1987;44:345-354.
ABSTRACT  

Motor Activity and Affective Illness: The Relationship of Amplitude and Temporal Distribution to Changes in Affective State
Wolff et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1985;42:288-294.
ABSTRACT  

Impaired Presynaptic Regulation of Norepinephrine in Schizophrenia: Effects of Clonidine in Schizophrenic Patients and Normal Controls
Sternberg et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1982;39:285-289.
ABSTRACT  

Adrenergic Receptor Sensitivity in Depression: Effects of Clonidine in Depressed Patients and Healthy Subjects
Charney et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1982;39:290-294.
ABSTRACT  

Receptor Sensitivity and the Mechanism of Action of Antidepressant Treatment: Implications for the Etiology and Therapy of Depression
Charney et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1981;38:1160-1180.
ABSTRACT  

Psychiatry
Glass and Freedman
JAMA 1981;245:2218-2220.
ABSTRACT