In the spring and summer, when you wake up with the sun and go to bed when it's dark, your body's internal clock is in synch with the sun. However, in the winter, when most people must force themselves to wake up while it's still dark, the sleep-...
When a family member is depressed, his or her illness affects every other member. Seeing a loved one in pain is always difficult and being with someone who is depressed is stressful because of his or her lack of motivation and inability to...
For nearly 25 million Americans, the shorter, darker days of the autumn and winter months trigger the onset of a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The word "affective" relates to emotions--for those experiencing SAD, their...
A key role in synchronizing daily rhythms to the day/night cycle has been traced to a light-sensitive protein in the eye, by knocking out the gene that codes for it. Mice lacking a gene for the photopigment melanopsin show a dramatic deficiency in...
Most Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) symptoms stem from daily body rhythms that have gone out-of-sync with the sun, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded study has found. The researchers propose that most patients will respond best...
Variations in a gene known as TREK1 may explain some forms of treatment-resistant major depression, according to a new study analyzing genetic data from the NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial. The study...
