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Light treatment for seasonal affective disorder:
Author(s) -
Partonen T.,
Partinen M.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1994.tb05801.x
Subject(s) - light therapy , psychology , psychiatry , clinical psychology , mood
The concept of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) includes any depression whose onset is related to a certain season. Reduced environmental light is hypothesized to be the main precipitating factor of winter depression. Light treatment is used to prevent the onset of depressive episodes and to reduce depressive symptoms in patients with depression during winter months. The mechanisms of action which lead to the well‐documented antidepressant response are still unknown. Several hypotheses of the pathogenesis of SAD are discussed, and the clinical practice of light treatment is reviewed