重性抑郁障碍病因机制假说

重性抑郁障碍(MDD)是一种以心境低落、兴趣索然、快感缺失为主要表现的精神疾病,可导致社会功能的缺损,近3.4%的MDD患者有自杀行为。MDD认为是由多基因及一系列外界负性事件交互作用导致的结果。目前倾向认为MDD发生的生物学机制是由个体经历的心理应激导致了大脑神经递质、活性甚至解剖结构发生改变,其中童年的负性事件更是对大脑产生持续的影响,尤其当表观遗传学的改变时这种影响更为显著。

Hypothetic Mechanisms of Major Depression Disorder

Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood,accompanied by low self-esteem and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Major depression is a disabling condition which adversely affects a person′s family,work or school life and general health. Approximately 3. 4% of the patients with major depression commit suicide. Major depressive disorder is thought to result from the complex interplay of multiple inherited genetic factors and subsequent exposure to a wide range of environmental variables throughout life. The reciprocal connections between various brain regions and the neurochemical messengers involved in these connections are being increasingly studied from a systematic perspective. Furthermore,researchers are increasingly considering the impact of an individual psy- chosocial environment on brain chemistry,activity and anatomy,and vice versa. The impact of early childhood events in particular may have the long-lasting effects,especially if epigenetic changes are involved.