Nature vs Nurture in Depression By Tori Lewis

Nature vs. Nurture in Depression By Tori Lewis, Emma Montgomery, and Soleil Mc. Ghee

Causes of Depression § It has been believed that depression is caused by an imbalance of the brains natural chemicals. § Depression passed down in families through genes. § Depressive disorder is often associated with changes in brain structures or brain function. § Physical changes in the body can trigger depression. I. e. ) heart attack, stroke, Parkinson's disease § Stress has also been a factor that’s has been an on set of depression. § A combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors is often involved in the onset of depression.

Stress and Depression § Stress is thought to mobilize the sympathetic nervous system that triggers the fight-or-flight response and many physiological reactions.

Stress and Depression Cont. § Factors § Research in primates show maternal deprivation stresses young animals and may predispose them to a lifetime of overreaction to stress § In a study of Old Order Amish in Pennsylvania, the rate of depression was extremely low § Research conducted in working-class neighborhoods suggests that the combination of life stress and inadequate social support contributes to women's greater susceptibility to depressive symptoms. § Surgeon General concludes: "Something about the environment thus appears to interact with biology to cause a disproportionate incidence of depressive episodes. ”

Cognitive Theories § According to cognitive theories, depression arises from a subjective feeling of helplessness and entrapment. § Critical factor is the interpretation of the stressful event rather than the actual event, itself § Adolescent girls suffer from depression in far greater numbers than boys, possibly because they are more socially-oriented and more dependent on positive social relationships.

(PHDCN) Wangby, M. , L. R. Bergman, and D. Magnusson, “Development of Adjustment Problems in Girls: What Syndromes Emerge, ” Child Development (1999): § Although 40 percent of non-depressed girls engaged in property crimes, 68 percent of girls who were mildly to moderately depressed did so. § 42 percent of girls who were not depressed engaged in crimes against other persons, compared with 82 percent of mildly to moderately depressed girls. § 57 percent of mildly to moderately depressed girls engaged in higher levels of aggressive behavior, compared with only 13 percent of those who were not depressed.

Depression and Crime Cont. § Moderately depressed girls were more likely to commit property crimes and crimes than girls not depressed § preliminary findings suggest mildly to moderately depressed girls may be at risk of engaging in antisocial behavior § Benefit of treatment: § Undermining the development and maintenance of antisocial behavior § reducing depression.

Treatments § Self-help § Exercise - triggers the production of endorphins. These natural opiates are chemically similar to morphine. They may be produced as natural pain relievers in response to the shock that the body receives during exercise. § Exercise boosts activity in the brain's frontal lobes and the hippocampus. § Studies have found that exercise increases levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. (Associated with mood elevation)

Medicines § Depressive illness is caused by a decrease of certain chemicals or neurotransmitters in the brain that are responsible for mood. Antidepressants stimulate chemical changes that increase the levels of these neurotransmitters. Three main neurotransmitters associated with mood are serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.

Medicine Examples § Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), Affects the uptake of all three neurotransmitters associated with mood: serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. § Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), an older class of antidepressants, increases levels of all three neurotransmitters by inhibiting an enzyme responsible for inactivating them. § Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) delay the reuptake of one of these neurotransmitters, serotonin, thus raising levels in the brain. With more natural levels of serotonin in the brain, mood is elevated from the depressed state to a more normal state of mind.

Talking therapies § Supportive counseling helps ease the pain of depression, and addresses the feelings of hopelessness that accompany depression. § Cognitive therapy changes the pessimistic ideas, unrealistic expectations, and overly critical selfevaluations that create depression and sustain it. § Cognitive therapy helps the depressed person recognize which life problems are critical, and which are minor. § Helps people to develop positive life goals, and a more positive self-assessment. § Problem solving therapy changes the areas of the person's life that are creating significant stress, and contributing to the depression.

Studies (Gerald Haeffel) § Gerald Haeffel and colleagues at the University of Notre Dame. § Investigate depression while taking both genes and environment into consideration. § Haeffel studied 177 male adolescents from a Russian juvenile detention facility. They were given a depression assessment, a questionnaire designed to determine their mothers’ parenting style, and tested for the specific dopamine transporter gene previously implicated in depression. The results showed that neither cruel mothering patterns, nor the dopamine transporter gene alone predicted depression. A combination of both, however, resulted in a higher risk for depression and suicidal tendencies.

Studies (Gerald Haeffel) § This study is groundbreaking because it is the first to support theory of a dopamine transporter gene in depression. § It also represents a modern understanding of the interaction of nature and nurture. § As scientists like Haeffel begin to more frequently use a combination of genetic and environmental experimental designs, we will inevitably gain a much deeper, and more accurate, understanding of human behavior.

Studies (Teuting - 1981) § Teuting carried out a study in 1981 to measure the amount of serotonin and noradrenaline in urine samples of depressed and non depressed participants. § He found empirical support for the biology of depression. § Depressed participants had lower levels of these two neurotransmitters in their urine, compared to control participants.

Nature Vs. Nurture § "The outside environment creates a stimulus and response relationship that defines who we are. ” (The surgeons general report) § Our mental well-being is dependent on the brain's neurons and how they connect and interact with other neurons, but it takes a push from the outside environment to start the process