Psychiatry
Volume 5, Issue 5 , Pages 166-170, 1 May 2006

HPA axis function in mood disorders

  • Stuart Watson, MBBS MD MRCPsych

      Affiliations

    • Stuart Watson MBBS MD MRCPsych is a Consultant in General Adult Psychiatry and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle, UK. His research interests are in the neuroendocrinology and treatment of severe psychiatric disorders.
    • ,
  • Paul Mackin, MBBS PhD MRCPsych

      Affiliations

    • Paul Mackin MBBS PhD MRCPsych is a Department of Health Clinician Scientist based at the University of Newcastle, UK. He qualified in Medicine at the University of Newcastle, after gaining his PhD in diabetology. His research interests include the neurobiology of mood disorders, and metabolic disease in severe mental illness.

Abstract 

Mood disorders rank among the leading causes of disability worldwide, and are characterized by biological, emotional, psychological and cognitive symptoms. The monoamine hypothesis of depression fails to provide a comprehensive theory to account for this complex symptomatology, or the therapeutic action of drugs currently available for the treatment of mood disorders. Alternative theories have focused on the function of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and particularly on the deleterious effects of hypercortisolemia on mood, cognition and neuronal architecture. This article reviews the evidence suggesting that HPA axis dysfunction and maladaptive responses to stress may have a central role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Recent novel therapeutic strategies that target the HPA axis are also discussed.

Keywords:  mood disorders , bipolar disorder , BDNF , cognition , cortisol , depression , glucocorticoid receptors , HPA axis , neurogenesis , stress

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PII: S1476-1793(06)70037-4

doi:10.1383/psyt.2006.5.5.166

Psychiatry
Volume 5, Issue 5 , Pages 166-170, 1 May 2006

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