Main description:

This book integrates the current state of knowledge on the association of neurochemical and psychological factors underlying the concept of depression or on the process and nature of the drug-induced changes that lead to recovery. Highlighting the results of two major multisite collaborative studies of the psychobiology of depression, the author demonstrates how more refined clinical methods uncover the initial behavioral actions of the drugs and chart the time course of their actions. The results disconfirm earlier textbook reported findings that these actions are delayed for several weeks beyond the almost immediate neurochemical effects. The "multivantaged" method makes possible distinguishing the clinical actions of different classes of antidepressant drugs.

Contents:

Introduction.- Uncovering the Interaction of Chemistry and Behavior in Depression: Dimensions vs. Diagnosis in Structuring Research.- Depression is a "Storm" not a Lowering of Spirit: The Experience of the Severe Depressed State.- "Rashomon" and the Componential Approach to Developing Measures of Mood and Behavior.- Dimensions of Depression: The Conflictual Structure of the Depressed State.- False Assumptions: The Multidimensional Quality and its Relationships to Functioning of the Central Nervous System.- Testing New Hypotheses about Neurochemistry, Depression and Drugs.- Developing a More Effective and More
Efficient Clinical Trial Model.- Elaboration of the New Theory of Depression and Conclusions.- Postscript.- Appendix 1 The Multivantaged (MV) Assessment Methods.- Appendix 2 The Video Interview Behavior Evaluation Scales (VIBES).