Current Psychiatry Reviews - Volume 10, Issue 3, 2014

Disturbances of the sleep-wake pattern constitute one of the major complaints of patients with a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including major depression disorder, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and alcohol abuse. Recent advances have cast light on the mecanisms underlying modifications in sleep in psychiatric disorders, offering new approaches in Read More

Sleep, depression and insomnia have manifold associations. Psychiatric sleep research in affective disorders has demonstrated that sleep in depression is characterized by an impairment of sleep continuity, deficits in slow wave sleep and a disinhibition of REM sleep (including shortened REM latency and increased REM density). Traditionally, insomnia, i.e. prolonged latency to fall asleep and increased frequency of noctur Read More

More than three decades ago, bright light was found to be able to suppress melatonin production in humans, a finding which quickly led to identification of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and its treatment with light. However, current thinking supports a phase shift hypothesis (PSH), according to which SAD is a disorder primarily of phasedelayed circadian misalignment {best assessed by the time interval [or phase an Read More

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent and disabling disease. Recent studies have highlighted the interactions between the circadian system and depression and indicate a probable bidirectional relationship between MDD and the circadian system. In clinical practice MDD leads to circadian disturbances, and circadian disorders increase the risk of depression. Recent interest has focused on the use of melatonin and Read More

This review considers evidence that sleep and circadian rhythms are disturbed in bipolar patients during both mood episodes and periods of remission. Indeed, bipolar patients display disturbances of subjective and objective circadian markers, in sleep continuity, and in cortisol and melatonin secretion. Better characterization of sleep and circadian rhythms can improve personalized assessment and help identify trea Read More

The links between sleep and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been a topic of ongoing research and clinical interest in children over the last three decades and more recently in adults suffering from ADHD. Clinically, psychiatrists are faced with frequent reports of sleep disorders in adults and children with ADHD and conversely, sleep specialists report certain symptoms of ADHD (attention deficits, urge f Read More

Perinatal depression is an emerging field with questions that remain to be answered, including the underlying pathogenesis, treatment and counseling. Pregnant women with depression represent a serious risk to themselves due to negative fetal/obstetrical and neonatal outcomes and to their child with respect to development later in life. The immune system plays a crucial role in major depression disorder (MDD), and stu Read More