Mood Disorders: Depressive and Bipolar Disorders

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the classification, clinical symptoms, diagnostic criteria, etiology, epidemiology, neurobiology, and multimodal treatments of unipolar depressive disorders and bipolar disorders.

Mood Disorders

A major group of psychiatric conditions divided into two distinct categories—depressive disorders and bipolar disorders—whose key distinction is the presence of manic or hypomanic episodes.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

A depressive disorder defined by discrete episodes lasting at least $2$ weeks involving alterations in affect, cognition, and neurovegetative functions, requiring at least $5$ depressive symptoms with at least one being depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure.

Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD)

A continuous, chronic form of depression uniting dysthymia and chronic major depression, requiring a depressed mood for most of the day, more days than not, for at least $2$ years (cannot be symptom-free for more than $2$ months).

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

A treatment-responsive depressive disorder characterized by at least $5$ symptoms appearing during the final week before menses, beginning to remit once menses starts, and becoming minimal or absent in the week post-menses.

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)

A depressive disorder diagnosed in children up to $12$ years old exhibiting frequent episodes of extreme behavioral dyscontrol, established to counter the potential overdiagnosis and overmedication of pediatric bipolar disorder.

Anhedonia

A cardinal mood disturbance involving a profound loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities.

Psychomotor Agitation or Retardation

Purposeless or visibly decelerated physical movement of the body, such as pacing around the room, toe tapping, restlessness, or marked slowing of physical actions.

Bipolar I Disorder

A mood disorder diagnosed by the occurrence of at least one manic episode; depressive or hypomanic episodes may precede or follow, but a manic episode is the sole necessary diagnostic criterion.

Bipolar II Disorder

A mood disorder characterized by a past or current hypomanic episode AND a past or current major depressive episode, with no lifetime history of a full manic episode.

Manic Episode

A distinct period of abnormal, persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally increased activity or energy present all day, nearly every day, for at least $1$ week.

Mood Lability

Rapid, unstable shifts in mood that frequently accompany manic episodes.

Hypomanic Episode

A mood episode sharing the elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and energy of mania that persists for at least $4$ days, but lacks the extreme functional impairment or psychotic severity seen in full mania.

Cyclothymic Disorder

A chronic mood disturbance marked by numerous alternating periods of hypomanic symptoms and mild depressive symptoms that fall short of the full criteria for major depressive or hypomanic episodes.

5-HTT Gene

A gene located on chromosome $17$ that has been linked as a potential genetic contributor to major depressive disorder.

Biochemical Profile of Mania

A neurochemical pattern characterized by low activity levels of serotonin paired with high activity levels of norepinephrine.

Learned Helplessness

A cognitive model of depression, demonstrated by animal shock experiments, wherein individuals acquire the belief that they lack control over negative outcomes and cease attempting to escape adverse conditions.

Depressive Attributional Style

A cognitive tendency to attribute negative life events to internal, stable, and global factors while attributing positive events to external, unstable, and specific influences.

Cognitive Triad

Aaron Beck's cognitive formulation describing persistent negative and pessimistic thoughts about oneself, one's experiences, and one's future.

Peter Lewinsohn's Behavioral Model

A theory proposing that depression develops when individuals experience a significant reduction in the rate of positive rewards and reinforcement throughout their lives.

Artifact Theory

A sociocultural explanation positing that higher rates of depression in women occur because clinicians and diagnostic measures are more sensitive to detecting symptoms in women than in men.

Rumination Theory

A cognitive-gender perspective proposing that women experience higher rates of depression because they are more prone than men to repeatedly and intensely focus on their depressive symptoms.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

First-line antidepressant medications that selectively block the reuptake of serotonin to increase its synaptic availability, carrying side effects such as nausea, insomnia, and reduced sex drive.

Tricyclic Antidepressants

An older class of antidepressants that elevates levels of serotonin and norepinephrine; effective but prescribed less often due to side effects including dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, sexual dysfunction, memory issues, and cardiac complications.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)

Antidepressant medications that prevent the monoamine oxidase enzyme from degrading serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine; require strict dietary restrictions to avoid precipitating a potentially fatal hypertensive crisis.

Behavioral Activation (BA)

A structured psychotherapy for depression that aims to boost mood by scheduling positive, rewarding activities and eliminating avoidant behaviors, excessive sleeping, and social isolation.

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

A time-limited psychotherapy targeting interpersonal relationships and life events across four primary problem areas: grief and bereavement, role disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits.

Mood Stabilizers

The primary pharmacological agents for bipolar disorder (such as lithium and Depakote) that treat and stabilize both manic and depressive episodes without provoking manic switching.

Default Mode Network (DMN)

A brain network involved in emotional regulation, social cognition, autobiographical memory, and future planning; dysfunction in this network impairs an individual's comprehension of their place in the world.

Central Executive Network (CEN)

The brain network underlying executive functioning; disruptions within this circuit manifest as cognitive deficits, impaired executive control, and excessive emotional reactivity.

Salience Network (SN)

A neural network that detects salient internal and external stimuli to orient attention and behavior; dysfunction within it alters physiological and emotional arousal.

Neuroplasticity in Depression

A neurobiological process where chronic stress suppresses neurogenesis in the hippocampus and reduces prefrontal plasticity, which can subsequently be restored by antidepressant treatment and physical exercise.