Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T16:12:46.543Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Melatonin Rhythms in Seasonal Affective Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

S. A. Checkley ,
D. G. M. Murphy ,
M. Abbas ,
M. Marks ,
F. Winton ,
E. Palazidou ,
D. M. Murphy ,
C. Franey ,
C. Binme  and
J. Arendt
...Show all authors
S. A. Checkley
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London SES 8AF
D. G. M. Murphy*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
M. Abbas
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
M. Marks
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
F. Winton
Affiliation:
Peter Hodgkinson Centre, County Hospital, Lincoln
E. Palazidou
Affiliation:
Royal London Hospital
D. M. Murphy
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, London
C. Franey
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford
C. Binme
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London
J. Arendt
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford
D. Campos Costa
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London
*
∗Building 10, Room 6C 414, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We examined 24-hour melatonin rhythms from 20 patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and 20 healthy volunteers. Patients and controls were individually matched for age, sex, and month of study. Plasma samples were taken at hourly intervals, and were assayed for melatonin by radio-immunoassay. The 24-hourly melatonin estimations for each individual were fitted to a cosine curve, and the significance of the curve fits was calculated. Two analyses were performed. In analysis 1 the following were calculated: (a) cosine fit, (b) significance of fits, (c) mean amplitude and acrophase (peak) and (d) mean melatonin levels. The curve fits were highly significant for all but three subjects (two patients, one control), but there were no significant differences in any measure between the two groups. In analysis 2 the comparisons were repeated and restricted to the 18 patients and 19 controls in whom there was a statistically significant melatonin rhythm. Again there were no significant differences between groups. These results suggest that the circadian rhythm of melatonin is not abnormal in SAD, and that the therapeutic effect of light in SAD is not mediated by phase shifts in melatonin secretion.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 163 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 332 - 337
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1993 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM-III-R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Arendt, J., Broadway, J., Folkard, S., et at (1989) The effects of light on mood and melatonin in normal subjects. In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 133–145. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Axelrod, J., Stein, H. M. & Wurtman, R. J. (1969) Stimulation of C14 melatonin synthesis from C14 tryptophan by noradrenaline in rat pineal in organ culture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Washington), 62, 544–549.Google Scholar
Bojkowski, C., Aldhous, M. E., English, J., et al (1987) Suppression of noctural plasma melatonin and alpha sulphatoxymelatonin by bright and dim light in man. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 19, 437–440.Google Scholar
Broadway, J., Folkard, S. & Arendt, J. (1987) Bright light phase shifts the human melatonin rhythms in Antarctica. Neuroscience letters, 79, 185–189.Google Scholar
Buchsbaum, M., Landau, L. S., Murphy, D., et al (1973) Average evoked response in bipolar and unipolar affective disorders: relationship to sex, age of onset, and monoamine oxidase. Biological Psychiatry, 7, 199–212.Google Scholar
Checkley, S. A., Franey, C., Winton, F., et al (1989) A neuroendocrine study of the mechanism of action of phototherapy in seasonal affective disorder. In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 223–233. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Czeisler, C. A., Kronauer, R. E., Mooney, J. J., et al (1978) Biologic rhythm disorders, depression and phototherapy: a new hypothesis. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 10, 687–709.Google Scholar
Dalla Salla, S., Somazzi, L. & Wilkins, A. J. (1985) Rapid technique for detecting “blurred vision” in disease of primary visual pathways. Lancet, ii, 1015–1016.Google Scholar
Frazer, S., Cowen, P., Franklin, M., et al (1983) Direct radioimmunoassay for melatonin in plasma. Clinical Chemistry, 29, 369–399.Google Scholar
Hamilton, M. (1967) Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 6, 278–296.Google Scholar
Hoffman, K. (1981) Photoperiodism in vertebrates. In Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, Vol. 4 (ed. Aschoff, J.), pp. 449–473. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Illnerova, H., Zvoisky, P. & Vanecek, J. (1985) The circadian rhythms in plasma melatonin concentration of the urbanised man: the effect of summer and winter time. NRIAN Research, 328, 186–189.Google Scholar
Ingvar, D. H. & Lassen, N. A. (1961) Quantitative determination of regional cerebral blood flow in man. Lancet, ii, 806–807.Google Scholar
James, S. P., Wehr, T. A., Sack, D. A., et al (1985) Treatment of seasonal affective disorder with evening light. British Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 424–428.Google Scholar
von Knorring, L. (1978) Visual averaged evoked responses in patients with bipolar affective illness. Neuropsychobiology, 4, 314–332.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. J. (1983) Biochemistry and Regulation of Mammalian Melatonin Production in the Pineal Gland (ed. Relkin, R.). New York: Elsevier North Holland.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. J., Wehr, T. A., Goodwin, F. K., et al (1980) Light suppresses melatonin secretion in humans. Science, 210, 126.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. J., Wehr, T. A., Goodwin, F. K., et al (1981) Manic-depressive patients may be supersensitive to light. Lancet, i, 383–384.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. J., Wehr, T. A., Goodwin, F. K., & Newsome, D. A. (1983) Different kinds of melatonin secretory rhythms in some blind subjects. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 56, 1103–1107.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. J., Wehr, T. A., Goodwin, F. K., & Newsome, D. A., Sack, R. L. & Singer, C. M. (1985a) Immediate and delayed effects of bright light on human melatonin production: “shifting dawn and dusk” shifts the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO). Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 453, 253–254.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. J., Wehr, T. A., Goodwin, F. K., & Newsome, D. A., Sack, R. L. & Singer, C. M., et al (1985b) Manic-depressive patients may be supersensitive to light: possible trait marker for manic depressive illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 725–727.Google Scholar
Lewy, A. J., Wehr, T. A., Goodwin, F. K., & Newsome, D. A., Sack, R. L. & Singer, C. M., Miller, L. S., et al (1987) Antidepressant and circadian phase shifting effects of light. Science, 235, 352–354.Google Scholar
Mason, R. (1989) The effect of light on neuronal sensitivity to noradrenaline and serotonin (5-HT). In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 243–259. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Mathew, R. J., Stirling-Meyer, J., Francis, D. J., et al (1980) Cerebral blood flow in depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 1449–1450.Google Scholar
Monk, T. H. & Fort, A. (1983) Cosina: a cosine curve fitting programme suitable for small computers. International Journal of Chronobiology, 8, 193–224.Google Scholar
Moore, R. Y. (1978) The innervation of the mammalian pineal gland. In The Pineal Gland and Reproduction (ed. Reiter, F. J.). Basel: Karger.Google Scholar
Murphy, D. G. M., Abas, M., Winton, F., et al (1989) Seasonal affective disorder. A neurophysiological approach. In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 233–242. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, N. E., Sack, D. A., Gillin, J. C., et al (1984) Seasonal affective disorder: a description of the syndrome and preliminary findings with light therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 72–80.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, N. E., Sack, D. A., Gillin, J. C., Carpenter, C. J., et al (1985) Antidepressant effects of light in seasonal affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 163–170.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, N. E., Sack, D. A., Gillin, J. C., Carpenter, C. J., & Heffernan, M. M. (1986) Bulimia, carbohydrate craving, and depression: a central connection? Nutrition and the Brain, Vol. 7 (eds Wurtman, R. J. & Wurtman, J. J.), pp. 139–166. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, N. E., Sack, D. A., Gillin, J. C., Carpenter, C. J., & Heffernan, M. M., Skwerer, R. G., Sack, D. A., et al (1987) Biological effects of morning-plus-evening bright light treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 23, 364–369.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, N. E., Sack, D. A., Gillin, J. C., Carpenter, C. J., & Heffernan, M. M., Skwerer, R. G., Sack, D. A., Jacobsen, F. M., Sack, D. A., et al (1988) Atenolol in seasonal affective disorder: a test of the melatonin hypothesis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 52–56.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, N. E., Sack, D. A., Gillin, J. C., Carpenter, C. J., & Heffernan, M. M., Skwerer, R. G., Sack, D. A., Jacobsen, F. M., Sack, D. A., Skwerer, R. G., Jacobson, T. A., et al (1989) Phototherapy: the NIMH experience. In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 145–159. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Sack, R. L., Lewy, A. J. & Hoban, T. M. (1987) Free running melatonin rhythms in blind people: phase shift with melatonin and trizoham administration. In Temporal Disorder in Human Oscillating Systems (eds Rensing, L., An der Heiden, U. & Mackey, M. C.), pp. 219–224. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sack, R. L., Lewy, A. J. & Hoban, T. M., White, D. M., et al (1990) Morning vs evening light treatment for winter depression: evidence that the therapeutic effects of light are mediated by circadian phase shifts. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 343–351.Google Scholar
Sackeim, H. A., Prohovnik, I., After, F., et al (1987) Regional cerebral blood flow in affective disorders: baseline and effects of treatment. In Cerebral Dynamics, Laterality, and Psychopathology (eds Takahashi, R., Flor-Henry, P., Gruzelier, J. & Niwa, F.). New York: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Skwerer, R. G., Jacobson, F. M., Duncan, C. C., et al (1988) Neurobiology of seasonal affective disorder and phototherapy. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 3, 135–154.Google Scholar
Terman, M., Terman, J. S., Quitkin, F. M., et al (1988) Response of the melatonin cycle to phototherapy for seasonal affective disorder. Journal of Neural Transmission, 72, 147–165.Google Scholar
Terman, M., Terman, J. S., Quitkin, F. M., Botticelli, S. R., Link, B. G., et al (1989a) Seasonal symptom patterns in New York: patients and population. In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 69–77. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Terman, M., Terman, J. S., Quitkin, F. M., Botticelli, S. R., Link, B. G., Terman, J., Quitkin, F. M., el at (1989b) Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder: a review of efficacy. Neuropsychopharmacology, 1, 1–22.Google Scholar
Thompson, C. & Isaacs, G. (1988) Seasonal affective disorder. A British sample - symptomatology in relation to mode of referral and diagnostic subtype. Journal of Affective Disorders, 14, 1–13.Google Scholar
Thompson, C. & Isaacs, G. (1989) The syndrome of seasonal affective disorders. In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 37–57. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, C. & Isaacs, G., Stinson, D. & Smith, A. (1990) Seasonal affective disorder and season-dependent abnormalities of melatonin suppression by light. Lancet, 336, 703–706.Google Scholar
Utydenhoef, P., Portelange, P., Jacquy, J., et al (1987) Regional cerebral blood flow and lateralised hemispheric dysfunction in depression. British Journal of Pychiatry, 143, 128–132.Google Scholar
Warren, L. R., Butler, R. W., Katholi, C. R., et al (1984) Focal changes in cerebral blood flow produced by monetary incentive during a mental mathematics task in normal and depressed subjects. Brain and Cognition, 3, 71–85.Google Scholar
Wehr, T. A., Wirz-Justice, A., Duncan, W., et al (1979) Phase advance of the circadian sleep-wake cycle as an antidepressant. Science, 206, 710–713.Google Scholar
Wehr, T. A., Wirz-Justice, A., Duncan, W., Jacobson, F. M., Sack, D. A., et al (1986) Phototherapy of seasonal affective disorder: time of day and suppression of melatonin are not critical for antidepressant effects. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 870–875.Google Scholar
Wever, R. A. (1979) The Circadian System of Man: Results of Experiments Under Temporal Isolation. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Wever, R. A. (1986) Characteristics of circadian rhythms in human functions. Journal of Neural Transmission (suppl.), 21, 323–373.Google Scholar
Winton, F. & Checkley, S. A. (1989) Characteristics of patients with seasonal affective disorders. In Seasonal Affective Disorders (eds Thompson, C. & Silverstone, T.), pp. 37–59. London: Farrand Press.Google Scholar
Winton, F. & Checkley, S. A., Corn, T., Huson, L. W., et al (1989) Effects of light treatment upon mood and melatonin in patients with seasonal affective disorder. Psychological Medicine, 19, 585–590.Google Scholar
Wirz-Justice, A., Bucheli, C., Graw, P., et al (1986) Light treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 74, 193–204.Google Scholar
Wurtman, R. J., Axelrod, J. & Phillips, L. S. (1963) Melatonin Synthesis in the pineal gland, control by light. Science, 142, 1071–1073.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.