11 ms·

Are there other paths of study relating to depression that have are gathering interesting evidence? Where do you believe the field should be looking?

thanatropism 12y ago
Depression is atrophy of the limbic system. I understood that flooding your brain in serotonin stimulated neuron growth. (It has never been the case that depression = low serotonin. No one has ever believed that.)
- astrange 12y ago
  > (It has never been the case that depression = low serotonin. No one has ever believed that.) Doesn't everyone who reads about SSRIs on a pop-science level believe this?
- seiji 12y ago
  suicide tuesdays
md224 12y ago
There have been some promising studies showing rapid-onset relief for major depression following the administration of ketamine. Glutamate seems to be getting more attention these days, in terms of its potential role in mental illness.
lutusp 12y ago
> Are there other paths of study relating to depression that have are gathering interesting evidence? Yes. One of the most promising is Deep Brain Stimulation: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/magazine/02depression.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/magazine/02depression.html... Quote: "As it turned out, 8 of the 12 patients he operated on, including Deanna, felt their depressions lift while suffering minimal side effects — an incredible rate of effectiveness in patients so immovably depressed. Nor did they just vaguely recover. Their scores on the Hamilton depression scale, a standard used to measure the severity of depression, fell from the soul-deadening high 20's to the single digits — essentially normal. They've re-engaged their families, resumed jobs and friendships, started businesses, taken up hobbies old and new, replanted dying gardens. They've regained the resilience that distinguishes the healthy from the depressed." I hasten to add that DBS is nowhere near ready for the clinic -- it's experimental and risky. But it shows what can happen when people are willing to consider biological explanations instead of psychological ones.
- maxerickson 12y ago
  Is the Hamilton depression scale scientific?
  - lutusp 12y ago
    Because the Hamilton Depression Scale only measures symptoms and doesn't address the issue of causes (theories), no, it isn't. And the linked study will have to be repeated very carefully, with more patients, before it will be accepted as a treatment. And finally, regardless of its value as a treatment, that study can only be a steppingstone toward actually understanding what depression is, in a biological, scientific sense.

thanatropism 12y ago

Depression is atrophy of the limbic system. I understood that flooding your brain in serotonin stimulated neuron growth. (It has never been the case that depression = low serotonin. No one has ever believed that.)

astrange 12y ago
> (It has never been the case that depression = low serotonin. No one has ever believed that.) Doesn't everyone who reads about SSRIs on a pop-science level believe this?
seiji 12y ago
suicide tuesdays

md224 12y ago

There have been some promising studies showing rapid-onset relief for major depression following the administration of ketamine. Glutamate seems to be getting more attention these days, in terms of its potential role in mental illness.

lutusp 12y ago

> Are there other paths of study relating to depression that have are gathering interesting evidence? Yes. One of the most promising is Deep Brain Stimulation: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/magazine/02depression.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/magazine/02depression.html... Quote: "As it turned out, 8 of the 12 patients he operated on, including Deanna, felt their depressions lift while suffering minimal side effects — an incredible rate of effectiveness in patients so immovably depressed. Nor did they just vaguely recover. Their scores on the Hamilton depression scale, a standard used to measure the severity of depression, fell from the soul-deadening high 20's to the single digits — essentially normal. They've re-engaged their families, resumed jobs and friendships, started businesses, taken up hobbies old and new, replanted dying gardens. They've regained the resilience that distinguishes the healthy from the depressed." I hasten to add that DBS is nowhere near ready for the clinic -- it's experimental and risky. But it shows what can happen when people are willing to consider biological explanations instead of psychological ones.

maxerickson 12y ago
Is the Hamilton depression scale scientific?
- lutusp 12y ago
  Because the Hamilton Depression Scale only measures symptoms and doesn't address the issue of causes (theories), no, it isn't. And the linked study will have to be repeated very carefully, with more patients, before it will be accepted as a treatment. And finally, regardless of its value as a treatment, that study can only be a steppingstone toward actually understanding what depression is, in a biological, scientific sense.