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The biology of depression is the attempt to identify a biochemical origin of depression, as opposed to theories that emphasize psychological or situational causes. [ 1 ] Scientific studies have found that different brain areas show altered activity in humans with major depressive disorder (MDD) . [ 2 ]
In most mammals, including humans, it only occurs in the subgranular zone of the hippocampus, and in the olfactory bulb. [1] The neurogenesis hypothesis of depression proposes that major depressive disorder is caused, at least partly, by impaired neurogenesis in the subgranular zone of the hippocampus. [2]
Depression, which may be a similar kind of defense mechanism, may have become dysregulated as well. [31] Thus, unlike other evolutionary theories this one sees depression as a maladaptive extreme of something that is beneficial in smaller amounts. In particular, one theory focuses on the personality trait neuroticism. Low amounts of neuroticism ...
The Baldwin effect compared to Lamarck's theory of evolution, Darwinian evolution, and Waddington's genetic assimilation. All the theories offer explanations of how organisms respond to a changed environment with adaptive inherited change. In evolutionary biology, the Baldwin effect describes an effect of learned behaviour on evolution.
Evolutionary psychiatry, also known as Darwinian Psychiatry, [1] [2] is a theoretical approach to psychiatry that aims to explain psychiatric disorders in evolutionary terms. [3] [4] As a branch of the field of evolutionary medicine, it is distinct from the medical practice of psychiatry in its emphasis on providing scientific explanations rather than treatments for mental disorder.
Depression is a significant mental illness with physiological and psychological consequences, including sluggishness, diminished interest and pleasure, and disturbances in sleep and appetite. [1] It is predicted that by the year 2030, depression will be the number one cause of disability in the United States and other high-income countries.
The neurotrophic hypothesis of depression [1] proposes that major depressive disorder (MDD) is caused, at least partly, by impaired neurotrophic support.Neurotrophic factors (also known as neurotrophins) are a family of closely related proteins which regulate the survival, development, and function of neurons in both the central and peripheral nervous systems.
In the mid-20th century, researchers theorized that depression was caused by a chemical imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain, a theory based on observations made in the 1950s of the effects of reserpine and isoniazid in altering monoamine neurotransmitter levels and affecting depressive symptoms. [32]