Handbook of Studies on Depression is a collection of papers on the research and general overview of studies on depression from many countries of the world. Divided into four sections, the handbook presents an international coverage of depression, which is becoming a major worldwide clinical problem. Section I is a collection of studies in classification, phenomenology, etiology of depression, and the classification of depression and response to treatments. The genetic factors contributing to depression, effects on children, and the affective symptoms in non-western countries are described. Section II focuses on studies in the treatment of depression, examining the modes of actions of antidepressants, the use of electroconvulsive treatment, and psychosurgery for depressive illnesses. Section III moves forward to the research made on depression, including problems in clinical research, the discovery of effective antidepressant and antimanic drugs, and research into clinical psychoendocrinology, particularly on the function of the adrenal cortex in depression. Concluding this section is a paper on which depression includes a broad spectrum of psychopathology, making biological research more difficult. The last section is a discussion on the aspects of depression. Common topics examined are the management of bereavement; suicide; the side effects of tricyclic antidepressants on cardiac function; and the management of drug over dosage, especially those acts associated with depression. Psychologists, psychiatrists, medical students, school counselors, marriage guidance counselors, select members of the police force, and even parents who are interested in the subject of depression will find this handbook both useful and informative.

List of ContributorsPrefaceSection I Studies in Classification, Phenomenology and Aetiology of Depression 1 The Classification of Depressions: A Review of Contemporary Confusion 2 Response to Treatment and Depressive Classification 3 Anxiety and Depression 4 Genetic Studies in Depressive Disorders 5 Premorbid Personality and Affective Psychoses 6 Depression and Children 7 The Presentation of Affective Symptoms in Non-Western CountriesSection II Studies in Treatment of Depression 8 Modes of Action of Antidepressants 9 Measurement of Tricyclic Antidepressant Drugs in Plasma 10. Plasma Tricyclic Levels, Clinical Response and Drug Interactions 11 Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors 12 Lithium: An Overview 13 The Use of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Depressive Illness 14 Psychosurgery for Depressive IllnessesSection III Current Research in Depression 15 Problems of Clinical Research into Affective Disorders 16 Catecholamines in Depression 17 Idoleamines in Depression 18 The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Depression 19 Cyclic AMP in Severe DepressionSection IV Aspects of Depression 20 Management of Bereavement 21 Depression and Suicide 22 Tricyclic Antidepressants and Cardiac Function 23 The Management of Drug OverdosageSubject Index