28. October 2009 by John Schinnerer.

From ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2009) — More than half the people who take antidepressants for depression never get relief.Why? Because the cause of depression has been oversimplified and drugs designed to treat it aim at the wrong target, according to new research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The medications are like arrows shot at the outer rings of a bull’s eye instead of the center.A study from the laboratory of long-time depression researcher Eva Redei, presented at the Neuroscience 2009 conference in Chicago this week, appears to topple two strongly held beliefs about depression. One is that stressful life events are a major cause of depression. The other is that an imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain triggers depressive symptoms.Both findings are significant because these beliefs were the basis for developing drugs currently used to treat depression.Redei, the David Lawrence Stein Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern’s Feinberg School, found powerful molecular evidence that quashes the long-held dogma that stress is generally a major cause of depression. Her new research reveals that there is almost no overlap between stress-related genes and depression-related genes.“This is a huge study and statistically powerful,” Redei said. “This research opens up new routes to develop new antidepressants that may be more effective. There hasn’t been an antidepressant based on a novel concept in 20 years.”

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What are you learning today? Stay curious!

 John Schinnerer, Ph.D.Guide To Self, Inc.Executive coach, speaker, authorDanville,  San Ramon,  Alamo CA

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28. October 2009 by John Schinnerer.

NonWestern communal cultures keep biology from having its way with depression

From EurekaAlert.org…

EVANSTON, Ill. — A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new Northwestern University study.

In other words, a genetic vulnerability to depression is much more likely to be realized in a Western culture than an East Asian culture that is more about we than me-me-me.

The study coming out of the growing field of cultural neuroscience takes a global look at mental health across social groups and nations.

Depression, research overwhelmingly shows, results from genes, environment and the interplay between the two. One of the most profound ways that people across cultural groups differ markedly, cultural psychology demonstrates, is in how they think of themselves.

“People from highly individualistic cultures like the United States and Western Europe are more likely to value uniqueness over harmony, expression over agreement, and to define themselves as unique or different from the group,” said Joan Chiao, the lead author of the study and assistant professor of psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern.

In contrast, people from collectivist cultures are more likely to value social harmony over individuality. “Relative to people in an individualistic culture, they are more likely to endorse behaviors that increase group cohesion and interdependence,” Chiao said.

Collectivist cultures may give individuals who are genetically susceptible to depression a tacit or explicit expectation of social support. “Such support seems to buffer vulnerable individuals from the environmental risks or stressors that serve as triggers to depressive episodes,” Chiao said.

The study by Chiao and Northwestern graduate student Katherine Blizinsky, “Culture-gene coevolution of individualism-collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene,” will be published online in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

For full release, please click here.

It’s interesting to note that many of the third wave of mental health therapies originate in Eastern cultures, such as mindfulness, nonattachment, nonjudgment, and accepting reality as it is. All of these skills originated in the East via Zen Buddhism or in Buddhism proper. And all of these skills are essential elements of Dialetic Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).  All of these therapies have been shown to be effective in dealing with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD,  eating disorders, and several personality disorders such as the most difficult one to treat (in my opinion) - borderline personality disorder.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

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