 |
|
A Circadian Signal of Change of Season in Patients With Seasonal Affective Disorder
Thomas A. Wehr, MD;
Wallace C. Duncan, Jr, PhD;
Leo Sher, MD;
Daniel Aeschbach, PhD;
Paul J. Schwartz, MD;
Erick H. Turner, MD;
Teodor T. Postolache, MD;
Norman E. Rosenthal, MD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58:1108-1114.
Background In animals, the circadian pacemaker regulates seasonal changes in behavior
by transmitting a signal of day length to other sites in the organism. The
signal is expressed reciprocally in the duration of nocturnal melatonin secretion,
which is longer in winter than in summer. We investigated whether such a signal
could mediate the effects of change of season on patients with seasonal affective
disorder.
Methods The duration of melatonin secretion in constant dim light was measured
in winter and in summer in 55 patients and 55 matched healthy volunteers.
Levels of melatonin were measured in plasma samples that were obtained every
30 minutes for 24 hours in each season.
Results Patients and volunteers responded differently to change of season. In
patients, the duration of the nocturnal period of active melatonin secretion
was longer in winter than in summer (9.0 ± 1.3 vs 8.4 ± 1.3
hours; P = .001) but in healthy volunteers there was
no change (9.0 ± 1.6 vs 8.9 ± 1.2 hours;
P = .5).
Conclusions The results show that patients with seasonal affective disorder generate
a biological signal of change of season that is absent in healthy volunteers
and that is similar to the signal that mammals use to regulate seasonal changes
in their behavior. While not proving causality, this finding is consistent
with the hypothesis that neural circuits that mediate the effects of seasonal
changes in day length on mammalian behavior mediate effects of season and
light treatment on seasonal affective disorder.
From the Section on Biological Rhythms, Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Program, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health,
Bethesda, Md (Drs Wehr, Duncan, Aeschbach, Turner, Postolache, and Rosenthal);
Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY (Dr Sher); and the
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (Dr Schwartz). Dr
Turner is currently affiliated with the Mood Disorders Program, Portland VA
Medical Center, Portland, Ore.
Corresponding author and reprints: Thomas A. Wehr, MD, National Institute
of Mental Health, 10/3S231, 10 Center Dr MSC1390, Bethesda, MD 20892-1390.
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLE
Internal Night
Michael Terman
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58(12):1115-1116.
EXTRACT
| FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
Melatonin and its agonists: an update
Arendt and Rajaratnam
Br. J. Psychiatry 2008;193:267-269.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Seasonal Variation in Human Brain Serotonin Transporter Binding
Praschak-Rieder et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2008;65:1072-1078.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Circadian abnormalities, molecular clock genes and chronobiological treatments in depression
Bunney and Potkin
Br Med Bull 2008;86:23-32.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Increased Melatonin and Delayed Offset in Menopausal Depression: Role of Years Past Menopause, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, Sleep End Time, and Body Mass Index
Parry et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2008;93:54-60.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
The circadian basis of winter depression
Lewy et al.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2006;103:7414-7419.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Are Humans Seasonally Photoperiodic?
Bronson
J Biol Rhythms 2004;19:180-192.
ABSTRACT
Aetiology and pathogenesis of mood disorders
Sher
QJM 2003;96:309-313.
FULL TEXT
Seasonal affective disorder
Eagles
Br. J. Psychiatry 2003;182:174-176.
FULL TEXT
Patients With Seasonal Affective Disorder Have Lower Odor Detection Thresholds Than Control Subjects
Postolache et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2002;59:1119-1122.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Internal Night
Terman
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2001;58:1115-1116.
FULL TEXT
|
