Firk Christine, Markus C Rob
Department of Experimental Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
J Psychopharmacol. 2007 Jul;21(5):538-44. doi: 10.1177/0269881106075588. Epub 2007 Apr 19.
A genetic predisposition to depression may be a potential risk factor in the development of depression. Although the neurobiological equivalent of the predisposition remains unclear, it seems as though the brain serotonin (5-HT) system plays an important mediating role. Therefore, individuals with a family history of depression (FH+) may be more likely to develop depression due to an innate vulnerability related to altered serotonergic neurotransmission in the brain. A major problem, however, is that the role of brain 5-HT in depression is complex and this serotonin-related innate vulnerability, by itself, is not sufficient enough to cause a depressive episode. In the search for additional factors, stress has received particular attention. Stressful life events influence and precede the onset of depression. Furthermore, depression is associated with stress hormone dysregulation and bidirectional interactions are thought to occur between stress-related changes in the neuroendocrine stress system and the 5-HT system. In the current review, we argue that healthy individuals with a positive family history of depression are more prone to develop depression due to a genetic 5-HT susceptibility, which deteriorates stress coping mechanisms and increases stress vulnerability.
抑郁症的遗传易感性可能是抑郁症发生发展的一个潜在风险因素。尽管这种易感性的神经生物学等效物仍不清楚，但大脑血清素（5-HT）系统似乎起着重要的中介作用。因此，有抑郁症家族史（FH+）的个体可能由于与大脑中血清素能神经传递改变相关的先天易感性而更容易患上抑郁症。然而，一个主要问题是大脑5-HT在抑郁症中的作用很复杂，而且这种与血清素相关的先天易感性本身并不足以导致抑郁发作。在寻找其他因素的过程中，压力受到了特别关注。应激性生活事件会影响抑郁症的发作并在其之前发生。此外，抑郁症与应激激素失调有关，并且人们认为神经内分泌应激系统中与压力相关的变化和5-HT系统之间会发生双向相互作用。在当前的综述中，我们认为有抑郁症阳性家族史的健康个体由于遗传的5-HT易感性更容易患上抑郁症，这种易感性会使应激应对机制恶化并增加应激易感性。
