Systems Neuroscience in Depression

Thomas Frodl

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9780128026281
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Index: Psychology

Systems Neuroscience in Depression provides a comprehensive overview of the normal and depressed brain processes as studied from a systems neuroscience perspective. Systems neuroscience uses a wide variety of approaches to study how networks of neurons form the bases of higher brain function. A broad overview is discussed starting with a background from neurodevelopment and neural understanding as well as novel treatment approaches for depression. This book covers basic developmental aspects and depressive psychopathology, as well as the basic scientific background from animal models and experimental research. Current advances in systems neuroscience are highlighted in studies from child and adolescent psychiatry. Integrated approaches are presented with regards to genetics, neuroimaging and neuroinflammation as well as neuroendocrinology. The field of systems and network neuroscience is evolving rapidly and this book provides a greatly needed resource for researchers and practitioners in systems neuroscience and psychiatry.

• Knowledge covering the whole life span from early to later life
• Comprehensively written chapters developing from molecules via epigenetics and neural circuits to clinical neuroscience
• Understanding the neurobiology of major depressive disorder
• Integrating stress and environmental factors with molecular underpinnings
• More than 25 illustrations and tables

Part I

Developmental Aspects

Outline

Chapter 1. A Multilevel Developmental Psychopathology Systems Perspective on Depression

Chapter 2. Early Life Adversity and Risk for Depression: Alterations in Cortisol and Brain Structure and Function as Mediating Mechanisms

Chapter 1

A Multilevel Developmental Psychopathology Systems Perspective on Depression

Dante Cicchetti Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Abstract

In this chapter, we examine how the principles of a multilevel developmental psychopathology systems perspective provide insight into understanding the etiology, course, and sequelae of depressive disorders. Depression is of particular interest to developmental psychopathologists because of the complex interplay of psychological (affective, cognitive, interpersonal) and biological (genetic, neurobiological, neurophysiological) systems that are involved. Although there are diverse pathways leading to depressive disorders, potential risk factors for depression may result in a multitude of outcomes, of which depression may be one. Moreover, depressive phenomena and disorders are present throughout the life course. Not only does knowledge of normative development and functioning assist in characterizing the deviations evident among those with depression, but also understanding the aberrations in functioning among depressed persons elucidates how normal adaptation is achieved. In addition, pathways to resilience and competent adaptation despite the experience of significant adversity are discussed. Finally, the implications of a developmental psychopathology approach for prevention and intervention strategies for depression are examined.

Keywords

Depression; Developmental psychopathology; Intervention; Multiple levels of analysis; Prevention; Resilience

In this chapter, it is proposed that the principles inherent to a developmental psychopathology perspective can serve to elucidate the understanding of a systems approach to depression across the life course. A developmental psychopathology viewpoint espouses the conviction that comprehending the genesis (i.e., origins) and epigenesis (i.e., the development of new, different competencies across each stage of the life span) of depressive disorders in their full complexity necessitates that we possess a full comprehension of the organization and integration of diverse biological, psychological, and social systems at multiple levels of analysis within individuals across different contexts and varying developmental periods (Cicchetti & Blender, 2006; Cicchetti, Rogosch, & Toth, 1997; Cicchetti & Schneider-Rosen, 1986; Cicchetti & Toth, 1995).

Developmental psychopathology represents a movement toward comprehending the causes and determinants, pathways, sequelae, and prevention and treatment of mental disorders through its synthesis of knowledge from multiple disciplines. The undergirding developmental orientation impels researchers to pose new questions about the phenomena they study. For example, with regard to depression, it becomes necessary to move beyond identifying features that differentiate children, adolescents, and adults who have and who do not have depression (e.g., affect dysregulation; attributional distortions) to articulating how such differences have evolved developmentally within a multilevel and dynamic social ecology. Likewise, rather than being concerned with merely describing the symptoms of depressed children, adolescents, and adults, the emphasis shifts to ascertain how similar and different biological and psychological organizations contribute to the expression of depressive outcomes at each specific developmental level. Because psychopathology unfolds over time in a dynamically developing organism, the adoption of a developmental perspective is critical in order to comprehend the processes underlying individual pathways to adaptive and maladaptive outcomes in persons with depressive disorders.

Although abnormalities in the broad domains of genetics, neurobiology, cognition, emotion, and interpersonal relations are present to varying degrees among individuals with depression, these diverse areas do not exist in isolation. Rather, they are complexly interrelated and mutually interdependent. Consequently, it is essential for researchers to strive to comprehend the interrelations among the biological, psychological, and social systems in order to delineate the nature of depression, including the discovery of ways in which the organization and integration of these systems may promote resilient functioning (Charney, 2004; Curtis & Cicchetti, 2003). Relatedly, because there are myriad risk factors associated with depression and its comorbid forms of psychopathology, it is critical for researchers and clinicians to acquire a firm grasp of the multilevel biological and psychological processes and mechanisms that contribute to the emergences, maintenance, and recurrence of depression. Because of the continuities and divergences from normal functioning that are manifested in depression, empirical research on pathways to depression as well as prospective longitudinal investigations of its developmental course and sequelae hold promise for advancing understanding of the relation between normality and psychopathology.

In this chapter, I begin by explicating why a developmental psychopathology perspective can be usefully applied toward enhancing the understanding of depression. Next, I discuss the parameters of developmental psychopathology, including the core principles of the discipline. Throughout, aspects of a developmental psychopathology approach that are especially relevant to the prevention and treatment of depression are highlighted.

What is Developmental Psychopathology?

The integrative nature of a developmental approach to psychopathology was articulated by Eisenberg (1977), who stated that development “constitutes the crucial link between genetic determinants and environmental variables and between psychogenic causes” (p. 225). Development thus encompasses “not only the roots of behavior in prior maturation as well as the residual of earlier stimulation, both internal and external, but also the modulations of that behavior by the social fields of the experienced present” (p. 225). Not surprisingly, given the intimate link between the study of normality and psychopathology, similar depictions of normative developmental processes have been espoused in the literature.

Whereas the term “developmental psychopathology” has frequently been equated with the study of mental disorders among children and youths, this perspective encompasses a much broader approach to studying development, normal and abnormal, across the life span (Cicchetti, 1990, 1993). A developmental analysis is necessary for tracing the roots, etiology, and nature of maladaptation so that interventions may be sensitively timed and guided as well as developmentally appropriate (Toth & Cicchetti, 1999). Moreover, a developmental perspective will prove useful for uncovering the compensatory mechanisms, both biological and psychological, that may be used in the face of significant adversity (Cicchetti & Curtis, 2006).

Developmental psychopathology is an integrative scientific discipline that strives to unify, within a life span framework, contributions from multiple fields of inquiry with the goal of understanding the mutual interplay between psychopathology and normative adaptation (Cicchetti, 1990, 1993; Sroufe, 1990). A developmental analysis presupposes change and novelty, highlights the critical role of timing in the organization of behavior, underscores multiple determinants, and cautions against expecting invariant relations between causes and outcomes. A developmental analysis is as applicable to the study of the gene or cell as it is to the investigation of the individual, family, or society (Cicchetti & Pogge-Hesse, 1982; Werner & Kaplan, 1963).

Developmental psychopathologists seek to engage in a comprehensive evaluation of biological, psychological, and social processes and to ascertain how the transaction among these multiple levels of analysis may influence individu...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• The Systems Neuroscience Approach
• Part I. Developmental Aspects
• Part II. Experimental Systems Neuroscience
• Part III. Systems Neuroscience
• Index