Seasonal affective disorder

Since the 1950's, the idea of biological rhythms has found many medical applications, especially in the discipline of psychiatry. All physiological and psychological functions vary in a more or less predictable way according to a certain periodicity determined by an endogenous clock. Internal synchronization between the various different rhythms regulates the inner environment and external synchronization under the influence of environmental factors plays an important role in adaptation phenomena.
After a review of the psychological, physiological and genetic aspects of rhythms and chronobiology, the authors address the problem of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), including its specific treatment which are chronotherapy and phototherapy.
A quite distinct nosographic entity, SAD or seasonal depression is a recurrent mood disorder which is closely linked to season. It is characterised by recurrent episodes of depression with so-called "atypical" symptoms, and its treatment is a novel form of therapy, namely phototherapy which exploits the discovery of the antidepressant effects of light.
Above and beyond SAD, in a more general context, reading this book shows how important it is to take the temporal dimension into account when trying to understand the pathogenesis and etiology of mood disorders.
This book summarises both the historical and the most recent information on biological rhythms and mood disorders. It is aimed at psychiatrists, general practitioners, interns and medical students.
CONTENTS:
- Chronobiology and mood disorders
- Chronopathology: seasonal affective disorder
- Psychology and pathogenesis
- Physiological aspects
- Chronopharmacology and psychotropic drugs
- Drugs for SAD
- Non-pharmacological treatment modalities: chronotherapy, phototherapy and psychotherapy