Posted by pullmarine on October 27, 2000, at 2:33:17
In reply to Ted's theory of heritability (long), posted by Ted on October 25, 2000, at 20:48:59
>Source please!!! Studies have been done where laboratory rats are shocked whenever they approach a food dish. (not serious shocks, just mild). After a period of time, the rat shows signs of depression: avoidance, isolation, etc. even when the shock is removed AND the rat knows the shock is removed. Biochemical analyses show that the levels of serotonin & norepinepherine are decreased in the rat's brain. This experiment shows how a situational affect will have a biochemical effect.> Ted's theory:
>
> Genetics provides a possible, partial, predisposition to depression and bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses (god I hate that word). However, a situational trigger is needed as a cause. the response to the stressor is expressed more in some people than in others(due to many factors).These responses have a wide range in terms of length and severity. In some people, an incident will cause situational depression to occur, but recovery may come fairly rapidly (hours, days, weeks) and they are able to go on with their lives. For others, the individual ends up in a downward spiral of depression, fed by memories and feelings of guilt, humiliation, shame, etc, (possibly due to learned cognitive patters). Depending on the severity & duration, the individual may recover only to have another situational trigger. Eventually, with enough duration, the patterns may become set and difficult to change.
> >
> I believe this happens in humans as well: it is only a matter of time, and number of stressor (there's plenty of data to support this view). some don't have this problem because their depressions are short-lived, or they've had few stressfull life events. others are susceptible to long term or permanent changes which may or may not fix themselves, and can use medication to alter the chemical balance in our brains.
>
> Remember, other than the rat studies, this is only Ted's (now Ted and John's theory) theory and is not necessarily fact (but I think it sounds good). :-) IT DOES!!! and there's a huge amount of research that supports what you wrote.
>
>JOHN
poster:pullmarine
thread:1590
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001011/msgs/1672.html