1. Disease or Disorder

2.  Loss of interest in hobbies
 Feeling worthless
 Fatigue
 Inability to sleep or excess sleep
 Isolation from family & friends
 Thoughts of suicide
 Unable to perform daily activities

3.  121 million people are affected by depression
 80% of depressed patients are not being treated
 Depression increases by 20% each year

4.  A condition of the living animal or plant
body or of one of its parts that impairs
normal functioning and is typically
manifested by distinguishing signs and
symptoms

5.  is a pattern of behavioral or psychological
symptoms that impact multiple life areas
and/or create distress for the person
experiencing these symptoms

6.  Genes are responsible for biological
processes
 If a gene is damaged then
predisposition to depression is higher
than normal
 Mood imbalances are more likely with
damaged genes
 A mixture of genes are responsible for
depression not one specific gene

7.  Chromosome 3p25-26 linked to over 800
families with a history of depression
 Families who have this gene had two or
more offspring that suffered from
depression
 This research proves that depression can be
hereditary
 Genetic testing in the future will be
available to see if a person is predisposed by
hereditary genes

8.  5-HTT aka serotonin-gene transporter
 Relays signals to the brain for mood,
appetite and sleep
 A child receives one gene from each parent
 If one gene is short then a 33% increase in
depression
 If both genes were normal then there was
only a 17% chance of depression
 Serotonin receptors are less in the
hippocampus of the brain than a normal
person

9.  The limbic system of
the brain contains the
amygdale &
hippocampus
 Controls emotions,
behavior, and memory

10.  The amygdale is responsible for how a
person feels during a specific situation
 Recollection of this situation increases
activity in the amygdale
 As depression worsens so does the activity in
the amygdale
 Antidepressants can help control the activity
in the amygdale
 In remission, patients who have higher
activity are at higher risk for relapse

11.  Memory bank and recollection of memories
 Outside factor triggers negative memory
causing the onset of depression
 This can be continuous, this is called
recurring depression
 Depressed women have a 13% smaller
hippocampus
 Research implies that the hippocampus is
smaller because stress damages the growth
of nerve cells

12.  Antidepressants will stimulant growth of
nerve cells and promote branching of nerve
cells
 The process starts immediately, but takes
weeks to months before the patient starts
feeling better

13.  PET Scans show different functions of brain
activity
 Doctors are able to tell what treatment a
patient benefits from more
 Two types of treatment, antidepressants or
cognitive behavioral therapy
 Treatment was decided upon by activity in
the insula
 The insula is responsible for heart rate,
temperature, and pain

14.  Therapy decreased activity in the insula
 Patients were able to change thought
processes to be positive
 Were able to change their outlook without
medication
 Antidepressants increased activity in the
insula
 Patients were more focused on internal
thoughts and could not control them
 Medication helped balance out hormones
and slow down thought processes

15.  The thyroid controls metabolism
 Hypothyroidism happens when the thyroid is
underperforming
 Diagnosed with a blood test
 Disrupts behavioral and emotional processes
 Patients have a somber mood
 Thyroid medication can balance out
hormones

16.  Hyperthyroidism over produces hormones
and energy is burned too fast
 A patient will feel irritable, nervous, and
suffer from sleep deprivation
 Suffering from these symptoms will worsen
depression
 Medication can help lower hormone levels
 Sometimes surgery to remove apart of the
thyroid is necessary to control hormone
levels

17.  If a man has depression, testosterone levels
can automatically reduce
 Medication to raise these levels reduce
depression symptoms
 Testosterone medication may be more
effective instead of taking antidepressants
 Men who took both medications were less
anxious and happier
 Men who only took antidepressants remained
the same and seen no change

18.  Low estrogen levels cause lowered mood and
thought processes
 Estrogen controls a woman’s mood, even
inside the brain
 Estrogen changes after giving birth,
postpartum depression
 Estrogen changes before menopause
 Estrogen replacements are available to
balance out hormone levels

19.  Dr. Grohol states that even though the brain
is an organ that there is not enough research
 There is activity in the brain, but this could
be from any task being done
 There is not one thing that causes
depression and with a disease there is only
one culprit

20.  What depression is called matters
 When a name is given to something, that is how
a person feels and interprets how they feel
about that specific thing
 When a name is given that person will react to
treatment options and severity of what they
have been diagnosed with
 Disease is caused from structural changes within
the body
 Disorder is the inability to function day to day,
without changes in the body
 Depression changes the brain, hormones, and
genetic makeup; therefore, it is a disease

21.  Depression should be treated with more
importance
 Future studies will:
 Show what parts of the brain are
deteriorating due to depression
 Determine what genes and chromosomes
that are affected by depression
 Find more hormones that predispose a
patient to depression
 Provide better specialized treatments for
depressive patients