Terrie Moffit & Avshalom Caspie's research in the NZ Dunedin population sample shows that it is an interaction effect between env't adversity and certain allele variants of the 5-HT transporter gene. So, it is an interaction. I think the first of this research came out @ 2002/2003 in Science.

One approach to this question would be to ask: Can adverse personal events cause a severe depression, as opposed to being blue, discouraged, or down for a relatively short period of time (a week or less)? If a person does become severely depressed after experiencing negative personal events, to what extent can traditional forms of psychotherapy effectively treat that depression?

Depression has been medicalized, it has moved away from being a symptom that all is not well either emotionally, physically or spiritually (purpose/meaning/existence) and become a disease which now has scientists scrambling in the wrong direction. Here in New Zealand a blood test that identifies a person with a poor ability for eliminating heavy metals (4.4 antigen) has been made impossible for a doctor to order and researchers discouraged (sorry I would have added details if they were not hiding in the filing, the researchers name is Dr Damien Wojcik). Perhaps an antigen profile is a true genetic marker?

Surely a downward spiral exists where adverse life experience leads to poor physical health and a loss of appetite leads to nutritional deficiency (B3, B6, folic acid, Vit C, magnesium and zinc all have depression as a symptom when in deficiency Holford, 2007). A lack of zinc causes the body to shut down appetite further to conserve it and serotonin production falls. Conversely other people seek stimulants, fats and empty carbs to fill the emotional void/unwell feeling and this also results in nutritional deficiency. All of these lead to biochemical imbalance as a direct result, not a cause.

A depressed physical state also opens the door to viruses, bacteria, parasites, injury and addictions.... all leading to severe depression if not addressed. So to answer you question yes adverse events count and epigenetic facts add to this. That it is present in some families more that others has to point to poor coping skills, poor communication, unrealistic stress, poor access to resources, toxic environments (chemical exposure as well as abuse etc) and a lack of resilience, laughter and love.

Sorry... epigenetic factors.. not facts (everything is a hypothesis after all). See Bruce Lipton's work to explain how genes are switched on or off depending on the environmental signals. Only a fraction of genetic 'disease' is genuinely genetically based from time of conception.

Yes, Heather I agree about the epigenetic factors, here in the US, with primate research, a group at Univ of Chicago also shows similar patterns. I don't have the original research, but I think it was discussed in a recent issue of The Economist.

I believe Neil shared an intereting point. As an adoptee, I was raised in an environment that separated me from my biological parents. My birth mother suffers from depression and her mother from bipolar disorder. There is a genetic predisposition, but I do not suffer from major depression. It's essential to isolate whether one is experiencing the "blues", if they are caught in an event related "depression" initiated by a perceived sense of powerlessness or if they are legitimately experiencing depression.

Heather is correct. To spend a career searching for "genetic loadings or predispositions" with what we know about the nature of geners (not generally cookie cutters, but switches) is like looking for correlations between having feet and covering distance (just keep getting the sample larger and there will eventually be a correlation, add a variable-"trees passed" and another correlation will be substantiated, etc.). Genes, and especially those in the CNS cell nucleus are involved in everything that happens to us and that we do. So, eventually, they can correlate with "everything" if the study is set up right-Duh! Correlation is not causation, and in mental disorder multipathway causation has been accepted by those who know the research for over 15 years. Interestingly, recent studies indicating in vivo gestation brain changes as the result of stress and negative external (to the fetus) environments really amplefies the concept of brain evolution or devolution (and gene switches) or neuroplasticity (see: Richelle Mychasiuk, Robbin Gibb, et al's work at the Canaadian Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge).

Just one environmental stressor can have a huge impact all on its own.....

For example EMF exposure -

Dr Dietrich Klinghardt - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_wxM6IAF1I

He is so well informed on the effects of EMF he can predict the presence of autism in a child by where the mother slept while pregnant. Imagine just how many man made chemicals and unnatural forces everyone on the planet is being subjected (unless you live in isolated forest or desert tribes).

I just cant understand why the human being is so strong... Any new born animal would not survive on formula made from GE soy subjected to herbicides and pesticides, mixed with water containing chloride and fluoride in a plastic bottle and heated in the microwave yet somehow human babies do it all the time.

Instead of looking at the ills of individual humans we could be looking at the environmental ills that are causing the distress. Too bad if it puts chemical companies that originated in Nazi Germany out of business. Health scientists who work directly or indirectly for them are not promoting health, they are destroying health and lives for profit.

Gang,

It is important not to make the logical fallacy-post hoc, ergo proctor hoc argument in this research. I've posted some of the research indicating that negative and stressful environments change the brain negatively (and hormonal and enzyme systems are a part of this as are genetic switches). Therefore, to test certain behavioral health diagnostic groups and find "brain differences" and then "conclude" that this means we've found a brain cause of the mental illness is primative research and overgeneralization. Of course, we've proven that the inteplay between the environment changes the brain (negatively and positively-otherwise we would fire all 3rd grade math teachers), but that doesn't mean these biomarkers explain mental illnes by themselves.

It does not seem the reproductive math bears out the rise in depression. If we look at the army, as a population, can we suggest that there are more biologically dysfunctional organisms enlisting each year to cause the major increase in suicides?

There are so many other psycho-social factors. Are more soldiers coming from broken homes? More homes with poverty? What emotional factors drove them to enlist? It once was the purpose of defending a nation. How often is it to escape poverty or lack of jobs today?

As others have suggested I would sum the literature at this point as pointing to it as not an either or, there are interactions. Depression is not uniform in etiology and so each person may have very different processes that lead them to the same outcome.

Dale,

I agree that the question is not either/or. What I am trying to get at is what researchers have found that provides evidence on both sides of the issue. I fall firmly on the biological side of the issue, but know that there are strong epigenetic factors in play. I would be very interested to hear more about biological markers for depression (understanding that not all individuals with depression possess the same markers), and the environmental factors that may turn on or off those markers in an individual.

Take a look at the huge body of information on a web site complied by a New Zealand woman, Marie Bradshaw, after her son committed suicide.... www.casper.co.nz You can also find her through Robert Whitaker's site. Humans always have emotional highs and lows in life, without these we flat line and that is not living. However by pathologizing and treating with medical drugs other outside influences, many unknown, are introduced. It is no coincidence that many people commit suicide within a month of going onto these medications. Dr David Healy has done many studies on this topic and in the UK they avoid antidepressants in under 18 year old's as research shows an increase in suicide up to 3 fold.

Erol for the military personal have a look at the information on the huge numbers of vaccinations they are subjected to. There are cases of young fit solders becoming paralyzed and dreadfully sick after them. Some of the Gulf war syndromes were put down to this and simple things such as diet coke in aluminum cans which sat in the desert heat forming formaldehyde certainly didnt help. PTSD requires psychosocial intervention, huge doses of medication is a band aid only not a cure. Even better avoiding PTSD by not sending military into other peoples countries to commit austerities that no sane person with a conscious can live with after.

IMHO What makes a cake? The order of the ingredients, the kind of them, the experience of the cooker ? The fire? Yeast? Once just a few micrograms of hormones may provoke hurricanes and mental disorders, just as some remedies components may take you to hear dialogues voices inside your mind. The same for individuals, what makes some cry, makes other laugh. Culture itself, TV, marketing and all these things, just as Summer, Winter, the history of each one.Your brain is planned to search and research continuously the environment, a continuous loop and just as electrical circuitry once the unsupportable charge is admitted ( and it may mean to find a lion in front of you inside your bathroom ) , the system will record all the data involved. And, even if you like lions, from that moment on the knot into the net will change the way all the previous data were recorded. PTSD rely on the limits of each one on each time things happen and the neuronal charge admitted for each individual brains. Just a nightmare and your day will be more or less depressive.I follow Freud and so, fight or run from everything may give a clue that genetics for all human things rely on. It is not genetic, but economy, I guess. If you read Jiddu Kkrishnamurti you will perceive that depression may have a lot of other names, including hate as its yeast.

Looking for a past or present "cause" of depression is certainly tempting, but it could be even more fruitful to explore the potential of a future (teleological) cause. Alfred Adler's "psychology of use" frames symptoms according to purpose, largely under the influence of an unconscious fictional, final goal. In Classical Adlerian Depth Psychotherapy, if that goal can be identified and changed or dissolved, symptoms usually disappear.

The best thing I have experienced when faced with a life question that tore at my heart was for a person to ask me to take a deep breath, close my eyes and feel where the tension was in my body. Then after describing it in term of size, density, texture and colour she asked how long had it been with me in some form or another and to name the people in my life who were associated with it. The question that then dissolved it was 'Is it OK for it to be there?'.... my body and being said YES and all the angst dissipated.

I know as a hypnotherapist that we can face and accept emotions by being with them, going through them and seeing the gifts even negative events have brought such as strength and greater empathy for others. This can be done in just a few minutes. EFT, emotional freedom technique, Psych K, The Work by Katie Byron and The Journey by Brandon Bays and other methods are other examples of quick and effective processes. Add to any one of these good nutrition, time for healing and the grief process, addressing causes such as hidden infection and depression can be a phase not a life long medical condition to be medicated and treated.

Hello, great question! Not sure if this helps but I think your stance (biological or psychosocial) contributes to answering the question. Please read below:

Causes of depression might differ depending on the individual. Some researchers suggested that depression is solely genetic-based. From a biological perspective, patients with depression have a chemical imbalance, particularly with neurotransmitters. According to the monoamine hypothesis, depressed individuals are likely to have low levels of these neurotransmitters, such as Serotonin and Neuropenephrin.

Other researchers have suggested that depression is due to a joint contribution of genetic and environmental factors such as major life stressors. They concluded that depression is caused by a cumulative impact of genetics, adverse events in childhood and ongoing or recent stress. Their finding portrays that gene–environment interactions could predict an individual’s risk for depression better than genes or environment alone.

Depression or any such psycho social disorder can never be said to be independent of the environment in which the individual evolves. At the same time, our neurons and the nervous system is also not independent of the societal influence. Our mind and body evolves continuously through the change and continuity of adaptation and mutation. Depression becomes a social pathological state when the individual and his / her psycho-social self fails to mutate / adapt to the external environment / control the nervous functions. As a result the external human organism and the internal neurons starts to display abnormal behaviors. Hence the behavioral and structural analysis should only be the means and not the end of a socio-pathological analysis of depression.

If it was so, Darwin may had been wrong, once evolution depended much more of stress and anxiety than to any other social order . It is enough to say that his

( Darwin´s ) behaviour was depressive.

Yes may be should be clinically evaluated

The short answer is both contribute. The work in epigenetics would now I suggest provide a clear mechanism by which environmental experiences e.g., adverse life events, can influence which of our genes are switched on or off. This in turn may influence the functioning of brain circuits which could lead to a depressive phenotype or indeed an anxious phenotype. (For that matter no disorder at all I.e., resilience). This might in part depend on neurotransmitter alterations, but the research evidence is that there are no gross changes in neurotransmitter concentrations in the brain. T hose ideas were developed a number of years ago and relied on studies (usually in rodents) investigating what antidepressants did to ananimals brain levels of transmitter. So while it is certainly true that SSRIs for example increase serotonin in brain it is not proven that this increase is responsible for the relief of the symptoms of depression. Perturbations of serotonin (or noradrenaline for that matter) by the drugs can result in many other changes in the brain both intra- and extra-cellularly.

I would agree with other answers here that suggest that depression is not a single entity but it is a syndrome the expression of which has many presentations depending on the individual patient. In my view applyiny highly sophisticagated genetic analysis techniques to psychiatric disorders like depression is both a waste of time and money. There is no gene(s) for depression but many

The most obvious and easily identified genetic condition which leads directly to depression and other mental health issues is pyroluria, also known as the mauve factor.

Its the build up of kryptopyrroles (waste product of hemoglobin production) binding to zinc and B6 thus causing a deficiency which disrupts the production of many neurotransmitters and other normal functions.

Its easy to address though with decent doses of B6 and zinc. See the research done by Abram Hoffer, Humphrey Osmond, Carl Pfeiffer, Arthur Sohler, William Walsh and Linus Pauling.

Depression and anxiety are very related. But depression is substantially a syndrome, so on, a complex net of factors. Sometime ago dentists used mercury into dental fillings. Nowadays we know the very bad mental consequences due to it . Could we say that if we determinate an increment of B6 and Zinc under such orto molecular approach depression will diminish? And if we diminish B6 and zinc into a diet, would the depression get harder?

This is more a comment than an answer...I asked about how psychiatry/psychology can account for the fundamental attribution error in the diagnosis of individuals with "psychiatric disorders." I did not receive an intelligent answer. Your question and the answer to it have extremely important societal implications. Prescribing medication, searching for disease causing genes and "diagnosing" people with disorders is a multi-million dollar (probably billion dollar business). How can a medical science get away with labeling people as disordered and there is no scientific, objective test to determine its accuracy? The conflict of interest is obvious. This is a serous, serious issue. The mental health system is doing society a grave disservice and no one seems to want to tell the truth about it...Does anyone remember Newtown, CT? That young man was no more disordered than anyone would be given his biological make-up and life circumstances. I would argue that our society supported his ability to do what he did. So when we label people like him as psychiatrically ill we fail to deal with the whole issue and no one gets fundamentally better in the process--we do more harm than good. Actually, let me rephrase: Y'all do more harm. I won't be a part of it.

διαγιγνώσκειν and σύμπτωμα ", diagnosis and symptom , both have a common liaison: the so called patient which comes from pathos that has a relationship with πτώμα, once σύμπτωμαyn , what the corpses repeat.. In other words: One patient suffers a pain, the pathos, and from what comes with all that suffer the same pain comes a knowledge, the same as to the characteristics that come from the corpses with the same pathos. BUT IT MEANS TO LISTEN TO WHAT COMES FROM THE VOICE OF THE SUFFERER ! To support the pathos , not drugs first. Or there is someone that does not want to learn with the patient? That is why Freud taught that psychoanalysts do not have to be doctors but very good listeners that really know human language, that of the patient.. Nicole Immanuel is right!

To depress may come from anger not well released. What is the press into the Kultur? Be not different and do not tell the true!

Dear Neil, Contrary to popular belief, there is no actual evidence for a chemical imbalance in depression - only the logically flawed assumption that this is the case because this is how antidepressants are thought to work - which is also a false assumption because we now know that these drugs are not really any more effective than placebo. There is more about these points in this paper

http://www.academia.edu/2240421/The_failure_of_the_antidepressant_drug_discovery_process_is_systemic

There is also no evidence to support the idea that HPA dysfunction is causal to depression - only that it is correlated - but only in about half of depressed patients.

The situation is that we don't really know what causes depression and none of the theories that have found their way into the collective conscience are correct. This is why we are still using drugs that are more than 20 years old, that we know don't work very well and why the drug companies, instead of pulling out all the stops to develop new drugs, have for the most part abandoned research into this area.

There are new theories coming through - the Third Ventricle Hypothesis for example proposes that depression is an adaptation that developed in response to the social emergency of individuals having to remain in small tribal groups that had become hostile to their presence. Such an adaptation was needed because the alternative was to die.

The theory proposes that the behavioural syndrome associated with depression (hunched posture, avoidance of eye contact, reduced appetites for food and sex, social withdrawal and sleep disturbance such that depressives are active at times when everyone else is asleep) is the important feature rather than the mood disturbance and that this is produced by the one-off release of damage producing cytokines into the third ventricle.

To answer to your question directly, the theory proposes that depression is triggered by environmental events (which have the common theme of 'damage to reproductive potential') and that it has a clearly identifiable biological cause (cytokine release into the third ventricle).

It is also clear that not every individual has this adaptation and that it is not a universal mammalian feature - hence, not everyone can be expected to get depressed and depression can only be modelled in a very few species that face the need to solve the same particular problem of occasionally needing to remain in social groups that have become hostile to their presence.

More about the Third Ventricle Hypothesis in this Wikipedia thumbnail sketch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_ventricle_hypothesis_of_depression

and this paper

http://www.academia.edu/1145735/Depression_An_Evolutionary_Adaptation_Organised_Around_the_Third_Ventricle

As to genetics, even the Nordics( they are the best samples because they are soft closed in genetic terms) did not and does not agree about depression into their countries. As to anti depressive drugs, the most effective action is to revert quickly premature ejaculation ( two tablets) and it occurs. The placebo does not it.

Depression is consequence of education and primarily due to Kultur. Please read Trauer und Melancholie from Freud. If you want to get a true approach to depression, start with Trauma. What makes one laugh , makes another cry, question of matter, place and time. Lacan may help with the notion of object . Social environment is not healthy in terms of the subject. Thanks to Colin´s pro vocation.

In addition to Colin's comment: I think that the only thing we know for sure in "treatment" of depression is that all kinds of drugs CAUSE some form of biomechanical imblanace. Yes, it is argued that this "imbalance", due to the effect of the drug, is improving the patient's well-being; But: i) all these drugs have a ling list of side effects, so that you can no longer be sure on which symptoms are actually an expression of depression, and which are due to side effects. ii) once you have been using a drug, it is difficult to stop treatment (or however one may call it) as you are basically "addicted" to the substance. Trapped in in this ambiguity of cause and effect of depression and drug treatment, I am not sure if one can speak of "true" improvement. At least the situation on the real cause of depressive symptomes is unclear (as Colin pointed out). So how useful is drug treatment then? I admit that there may be complex situations where drug treatment can cause a relatively quick improvement (Both parties, the patient and the therapist are "happy" as it seems to work). However, I agree that in general drug treatment is overrated and that in clinical therapy drugs may be administered too quickly. The cause for this is often very simple, driven by the "power" of the industry, insufficent time the health system permits for alternative treatments, etc.

While looking for the causes of depression one avenue was explained in a medical web site. They list over 800 medical drugs used for treating chronic conditions, including most statin drugs, which have depression as a 'side effect'. Again this points strongly to the need to address the cause of things and changes in lifestyle to remedy them rather trying to balance a body with symptom supressors.

The answer is... nobody knows. It likely varies from person to person, i.e., for some individuals the root of their symptomotology is primarily rooted in their unique biological vulnerabilities and for others it's that really messed up stuff that happened. And so, why is it that we don't diagnose people's environments as disordered? We are a diverse humanity. We have varied tolerances for adverse events. The issue is not individuals. The issue is that we live in a society that will seek a scapegoat rather than accept a difficult truth. Again, given the evidence, why is psychiatry the only medical profession that is allowed to medicate individuals (ineffectively) with no biological evidence of a disorder. An internist prescribes an antibiotic because he's detected an infection. An oncologist prescribes cancer fighting drugs because she's observed cancerous cells. The labeling of human beings with psychiatric disorders is a farce. The framework upon which you ask your question is based on a misattribution of responsibility.

Gene environment interaction studies in depression and suicidal behavior: An update.

Mandelli L, Serretti A.

Source

Psychiatry Section, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Increasing evidence supports the involvement of both heritable and environmental risk factors in major depression (MD) and suicidal behavior (SB). Studies investigating gene-environment interaction (G×E) may be useful for elucidating the role of biological mechanisms in the risk for mental disorders. In the present paper, we review the literature regarding the interaction between genes modulating brain functions and stressful life events in the etiology of MD and SB and discuss their potential added benefit compared to genetic studies only. Within the context of G×E investigation, thus far, only a few reliable results have been obtained, although some genes have consistently shown interactive effects with environmental risk in MD and, to a lesser extent, in SB. Further investigation is required to disentangle the direct and mediated effects that are common or specific to MD and SB. Since traditional G×E studies overall suffer from important methodological limitations, further effort is required to develop novel methodological strategies with an interdisciplinary approach.

Copyright © 2013

Not to forget that the biochemical inbalance induced by environment can arrive to influence gene expression itself, in chronic cases. And the biochemical profile of a stressed or depressed mother may 'imprint' the biochemical profile therefore the development of her child during pregnancy.

As it has been said here, it is difficult to give an answer, nowadays.

Indeed, Helene, perhaps equally difficult may be separating the body from the environment.

You could even say it is a wonder an even greater percentage of the western population is not mad.... Chemical exposure from conception to the synthetic Vit K jab on the day of birth. Then into a soup of thousands of chemicals all capable of affecting genetic expression and suppression, hormonal balance, neurotransmitters, endocrine function and immunity.

And so much of it is avoidable... plastics in nappies, bottles, food containers and toys. Chemicals in baby bath, detergent, house hold cleaners, garden sprays, even air fresheners. More recently EMF radiation from the phone, computer, smart meter and over head lines. Colourings, preservatives, nitrates, MSG, GMO... the list goes on... These all add up to adverse events in reality.

The human baby may be helpless but it is also remarkably durable. However there will always be those who are sensitive and they should not be deemed defective but rather they are displaying the mistakes we are making in our environment. If a 'mad or profoundly depressed' person becomes well if taken to a clean and stress free environment for a period of time then the theory of madness needs reviewing.

I became 'mad' then better when a failed root canal tooth was found under a crown and removed. Medication was never going to do that for me, all it did was buy me time. I had to fight the system to keep my self belief in the sanity I had for the bulk of my life time. Childhood trauma and genetics are not the only predisposing conditions to depression or any other mental health challenge, there are literally hundreds.

While we live into this drop of gases , called Earth, Nature itself has given a lot of tools and drugs, called " natural " and from each part of the world Humanity had discovered them and used; enough to show diferent approaches from China to India and the western world ; now we had started to develop and manage genetics in order to " find " the last and final manipulation that will solve all kinds of suffer, as if they are the path to happiness and eternal life. As to de-pression and sanity, it is enough to point out that the same characteristics in India, reveals a God or a Saint, while in the West they are called symptoms of psychosis and schizophrenia. It means that Cultur establishes the paradigms and paradoxes we are closed in.We have to be very CAREFUL and pay attention to the subject himself with DSM that seems to be a very closed and obsessive tool.The same to genetics, once it seems to be following paths with its news miracles; enough to show through viruses.

Hi Heather - that's a very similar argument to the 'Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness' (EEA) theory that basically says that if the world now was nearer to the world we evolved in then everything would be great - a lot of people accept this and some go off and eat 'caveman' diets etc.

Some environments are undoubtedly toxic but the weakness with the EEA theory is that there is no one environment that we evolved in. Our own bodies tell us that there was at least three - one where our diet was mainly fruit based, one where it included a lot of fish and one where we started to eat meat on a regular basis - if those had to be translated into actual physical landscapes that would roughly correspond to forest, riverine and savannah - all very different places requiring very different behavioural adaptations.

The EEA theory of mental illness also requires the assumption that depression (since that's what this thread is about) is a disease state and that is antithetical to the idea that it is an adaption. It cannot be both simultaneously and only one can be correct.

The link to the Third Ventricle Hypothesis I posted earlier outlines the reasons why I think depression is an adaptation - that developed in response to the social emergency of survival depending on remaining within a social group that had become hostile to that individual's presence.

More basic human chemistry which can result in the symptom of depression...

Undermethylation: This condition is innate & is characterized by low levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, high whole blood histamine and elevated absolute basophils. This population has a high incidence of seasonal allergies, OCD tendencies, perfectionism, high libido, sparse body hair, and several other characteristics. They usually respond well to methionine, SAMe, calcium, magnesium, omega-3 essential oils (DHA & EPA), B-6, inositol, and vitamins A, C, and E. They should avoid supplements containing folic acid. In severe cases involving psychosis, the dominant symptom is usually delusional thinking rather than hallucinations. They tend to speak very little & may sit motionless for extended periods. They may appear outwardly calm, but suffer from extreme internal anxiety.

Overmethylation: This condition is the biochemical opposite of undermethylation. It is characterized by elevated levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, low whole blood histamine, and low absolute basophils. This population is characterized by the following typical symptoms: Absence of seasonal, inhalent allergies, but a multitude of chemical or food sensitivities, high anxiety which is evident to all, low libido, obsessions but not compulsions, tendency for paranoia and auditory hallucinations, underachievement as a child, heavy body hair, hyperactivity, "nervous" legs, and grandiosity. They usually respond well to folic acid, B-12, niacinamide, DMAE, choline, manganese, zinc, omega-3 essential oils (DHA and EPA) and vitamins C and E, but should avoid supplements of methionine, SAMe, inositol, TMG and DMG.

Pyrrole Disorder: This condition, also called pyroluria, is a genetic stress disorder associated with severe mood swings, high anxiety, and depression. The biochemical signature of this disorder includes elevated urine kryptopyrroles, a double deficiency of zinc and B-6, and low levels of arachidonic acid. Pyrolurics are devastated by stresses including physical injury, emotional trauma, illness, sleep deprivation, etc. Symptoms include sensitivity to light and loud noises, tendency to skip breakfast, dry skin, abnormal fat distribution, rage episodes, little or no dream recall, reading disorders, underachievement, histrionic behaviors, and severe anxiety. They usually respond quickly to supplements of zinc, B-6, Primrose Oil, and augmenting nutrients.

An interesting answer Heather - can you provide the peer reviewed evidence that supports what you say? Thanks

Hi this is basic naturopathic and orthomolecular medicine. The founding names to look up are Abrham Hoffer, Linus Pauling, Western Price, William Walsh, the Pfeiffer Treatment Centre... Their collective work is in books such as those listed below and I have found this information through Nutritionist Blake Graham, Perth, Western Australia.

A Dose of Sanity: Mind, Medicine, and Misdiagnosis by Sydney Walker, MD (psychiatrist and neurologist), 1997

Too good to be True? Nutrients Quiet an Unquiet Mind: A Four Generation Bipolar Odyssey by David Moyer, 2003

Nutritional Influences on Mental Illness: A Sourcebook of Clinical Research (second edition) by Melvyn Werbach, MD, 1999

Melvyn Werbach, MD is a psychiatrist and nutritional medicine researcher. This excellent book contains a section on bipolar disorder, which reviews a huge amount of clinical research on its nutritional treatment. A considerably more detailed version of this document is available on the following CD-ROM:

Werbach's Nutritional Influences on Illness CD-ROM, 1997

Culturally could we, at least , admit that what we call insanity is just an approach and just not a disease? A "normal" personality is a complex syndrome resultant of imbalances: biochemical and environmental "adverse"events, dis easys .

A lot of drugs , simple and complex, amazonian ones, cracked or not, from a single aspirin to cocaine, alcohol and smoke are diversions to release people from tough reality, just because they did not have a good familiar education and did not learn that to take such risks may take them to environments wherein they are not able to fight. Just count the number of "abnormal" people and compare it with the mass of people with such vices and conclude about what adverse may means. Or why should a mun dial serial "real" soap opera could be so admired into TV? Should the real patients be really normal confronted with a familiar and social disease? Should depression means sanity? Not a single organism may present the same absorption of another,maybe that is why Traditional Chinese Medicine deals with energies!

It is clearly demonstrated nowadays that deprepression is a neuro-biochemical disease and not a psychic one.

Surrouding worsens the expression of this disease, like a slope worsens the consequences of a disregulated engine. However, it does not cause by itself this dysregulation. Neither dust or fog cause tuberculosis. They only worsen its expression.

Statistics need a strict and precise interpretation and never any pseudo-logical, a priori association.

Never forget that psychiatry ismainly based on hypothesis wich have trurned to dogmas, wihout any demonstration.

That may be one answer for some people (I do know someone like that, its learnt from his family and he is also Asperger's) but it isn't fair to say that about everyone. The clue is in the changes to personality and life outlook. Its natural to be 'down' after loss (people, relationships, employment, home, country, health etc). Time and understanding, good sleep, quality food and maybe a holiday will do the trick.

However if a previously happy person is depressed without obvious cause then its time to look at other influences and telling them that they just have a negative ego is downright insulting. Gosh even the progression into diabetes has personality changes that includes depression and unexplained anger. I do believe the Western world is too quick to dish out the happy pills and this can be a killer in kids.

Dear Yanal. How do you explain physical symptoms of depression: sleep, diarrhoea, constipation, abnormal taste in mouth, etc. ?

I daresay it is all here already: genetic predisposition, environmental triggers (many times they are the prevalent cause, regardless of genetics), health status, education towards an approach to life that supports resilience...

Of course, it would be difficult to discuss upon a theme without listening different opinions and analysing in order to find the truth. Is like playing to break something to pieces in order to see how is made, then trying to put it together again. In this case, to my opinion, the truth is rich with interrelations between many factors.

Depression is a variable syndrome resulting, for each patient, from a specific combination of these factors, although it tends to manifest in similar ways - even the therapeutic approach, therefore, may have to be richer than simple pills.

In spite of the game I mentioned above, have difficulties understanding why should physical and psychical aspects be separated so fiercely. Is not the psyche one, integrated, expression of the whole body? Is not the physical body influenced by the psychic status? Is it not our body structure and psychical expression strongly influenced by the environment we live in?

Our article published in peer-reviewed Journal "Communicative & Integrative Biology". A few major points discussed in the paper:

(1) Brain is not the source of consciousness.

(2) Consciousness is ubiquitous in all living organisms, starting from bacteria to human beings.

(3) The individual cells in the multicellular organisms are also individually cognitive entities.

(4) Proposals like “artificial life”, “artificial intelligence”, “sentient machines” and so on are only fairytales because no designer can produce an artifact with the properties like internal teleology (Naturzweck) and formative force (bildende Kraft).

(5) The material origin of life and objective evolution are only misconceptions that biologists must overcome.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19420889.2015.1085138

Bahkti

I have just red "Le Songe de d'Alembert" written by Diderot around 1750.

It's exactly his theory.

Bernard Maroy for your information many scientists are involved in an interesting discussion on this paper: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/online_sadhu_sanga/Mcv2O-yhqLE

Thanks.

I join the english abstract of my book on this subject.