title: [Value of the symptom in depression].
abstract: In the present paper the author tries to consider some of the variables that influence the symptomatological expression of depression, namely the social-cultural factors, the age or the personality of the patient. Considering works of other authors and personal works, analysing also the data that the epidemiological studies have revealed, he points out the importance of the biological symptoms of the clinical picture of depression, such as disturbances of sleep, weight, appetite, libido and diurnal mood swing. These symptoms seem to be a "common denominator" not influenced by the social-cultural environment of the patient with a real meaning as advising signals of the presence of a depression. They correspond to disturbances of phylogenetically old functions, what explains its general presence in the human beings. On the other hand, the other symptoms of depression are linked to the personality of the patient and are determined by learning factors to which the individual has been submitted.
mesh_terms: D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012931:Social Environment
vernacular_title: La valeur du symptôme dans une dépression.