About Your Mood  Mood Research

Depressive Conditions At The Forefront
Of Institute's Research

Depressive disorders affect approximately 19 million American adults. Improved recognition, treatment and prevention of these conditions are critical public health priorities. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the world's leading mental health biomedical organization, conducts and supports research on the causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of depressive disorders.

Evidence from neuroscience, genetics and clinical investigation demonstrate that depression and "the blues" are disorders of the brain. Modern brain imaging technologies are revealing that in these disorders, neural circuits responsible for the regulation of moods, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior fail to function properly, and that critical neurotransmitters - chemicals used by nerve cells to communicate - are out of balance.

Genetics Research

Research on the genetics of depression and other mental illnesses is a priority of NIMH and constitutes a critical component of the Institute's multi-level research effort. Researchers are increasingly certain that genes play an important role in vulnerability to depression and other severe mental disorders. In the next decade, two large-scale projects that involve identifying and sequencing all human genes and gene variants will be completed and are expected to yield valuable insights into the causes of mental disorders and the development of better treatments.

NIMH Research Findings

• Brain imaging research is revealing that in depression, neural circuits responsible for moods, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior fail to function properly, and that the regulation of critical neurotransmitters is impaired.
• Genetics research, including studies of twins, indicates that genes play a role in depression. Vulnerability to depression appears to result from the influence of multiple genes acting together with environmental factors.
• Other research has shown that stressful life events, particularly in the form of loss such as the death of a close family member, may trigger major depression in susceptible individuals.
• The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the hormonal system that regulates the body's response to stress, is overactive in many people with depression. Research findings suggest that persistent overactivation of this system may lay the groundwork for depression.

The Future of NIMH Depression Research

Research on the causes, treatment and prevention of all forms of depression will remain a high NIMH priority for the near future. Areas of interest and opportunity include the following:

• NIMH researchers will seek to identify distinct subtypes of depression characterized by various features including genetic risk, course of illness, and clinical symptoms.
• Because many adult mental disorders originate in childhood, studies of development over time that uncover the complex interactions among psychological, social, and biological events are needed to track the persistence, chronicity, and pathways into and out of disorders in childhood and adolescence.
• Recent research on thought processes that has provided insights into the nature and causes of mental illness creates opportunities for improving prevention and treatment.
• Advances in neurobiology and brain imaging technology now make it possible to see clearer linkages between research findings from different domains of emotion and mood. Such "maps" of depression will inform understanding of brain development, effective treatments, and the basis for depression in children and adults.
• An important long-term goal of NIMH depression research is to identify simple biological markers of depression that, for example, could be detected in blood or with brain imaging. In theory, biological markers would reveal the specific depression profile of each patient and would allow psychiatrists to select treatments known to be most effective for each profile.

Source: National Institute of Mental Health