Depression Center Colloquium Series

Personality and Mental Illness

• Paul Costa, Ph.D., Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, Nat'l Institute on Aging (NIH)
• Sandra Villafuerte, Ph.D., Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School

Best Practices for Depression Screening and Case-finding in Primary Care Practice

• Kurt Kroenke, M.D., Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine
• Donald Nease, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School

The standard way to detect a fever is simple: a temperature above 98.6° F. Measuring depression, however, is not standardized. In this colloquium, Indiana University School of Medicine Professor Kurt Kroenke, M.D., and University of Michigan Medical School Associate Professor Donald Nease, M.D. share work on the development of standardized depression measurement tools to be used in primary care settings. Dr. Kroenke explains findings about the use of several versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and recommends that it be kept as brief as possible, all purpose, self-administered and free. Donald Nease, M.D. presents a new line of research about measuring depression remission in primary care settings. This is especially important because sometimes a patient reports feeling better but still fits the clinical definition for depression, and sometimes a patient appears to be in remission by definition, but does not report feeling better. Dr. Nease recommends measuring happiness, emotional control, contentment, pain, self-isolation and overall sense of well-being as a way to more accurately determine if a patient is in remission from depression.
Key words: PHQ, standardized, measuring Depression, primary care, GAD, STAR*D, remission
*This recording ends at minute 55 of 94.

Neuroimmunology and Depression

• Steven S. Zalcman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School
• Alan R. Prossin, M.D., Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School

What role does the immune system play in major depression? Steven S. Zalcman, Ph.D. from the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey Medical School gives an introduction to how scientists discovered and began studying the connection between immunology (the study of the immune system) and psychopathology (the study of mental disorders). He explains how the immune system affects the brain and then presents two experiments that study relationships between stress, illness and behavior in rats. Dr. Zalcman’s findings support a classic theory about “Sickness Behavior.” Sickness behaviors are adaptive behaviors, like sleepiness, that affect motivation and usually help individuals recover from illness. He finds that stress on the immune system affects serotonin receptors, a key component in depression. Alan R. Prossin, M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Psychiatry presents two studies related to how stress affects mood through the immune system (specifically, through proteins called “peripheral cytokines”). He concludes that the certain neurological transmissions are abnormal in people with depressive symptoms and recommends that more research be done in order to better understand this phenomenon.
Key Words: immune system, immunology, cytokines, mood, brain, stress, sickness behavior, serotonin

The Neuroscience of Major Depressive Disorder

• Diego Pizzagalli, Ph.D., John and Ruth Hazel Associate Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
• Patricia Deldin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Michigan

In this colloquium, University of Michigan Psychology and Medical School Associate Professor Patricia Deldin, Ph.D. shares studies in which she uses brain-imaging techniques to explore the psychological and neurological workings of positive and negative cognitive biases. Dr. Deldin finds evidence for ‘depressive realism,’ which implies that healthy individuals have positive biases, while people with depression may perceive their experiences with a more even, less biased view. These results do not support the initial hypothesis expecting a negative bias in depressed participants. Diego Pizzagalli, Ph.D. of Harvard University’s Psychology Department then presents on efforts to develop a definition of depression based on how individuals behave. He outlines two studies that use reward and punishment scenarios to research how depressed participants behave in response to their environment. In these studies, Dr. Pizzagalli finds that individuals with depression are less responsive to incentive and reward than non-depressed individuals. Together, Dr. Deldin and Dr.Pizzagalli’s findings suggest that depression may lead to less bias and emotional response.
Key Words: neuro-imaging, fMRI, EEG, ERP, bias, psychological processes, realism, phenotype, genes, anhedonia, incentive, reward, punishment, stress.