Environmental and behavioral influences on affective illness.
A behavioral factor, sleep, and a physical environmental factor, light, can trigger or terminate episodes of affective illness. The authors review the experimental evidence for these effects and discuss recent research on their biological mechanisms. In light of these findings the authors speculate that affective illness could partly be a disorder of systems that mediate the organism's adaptations to changes in the physical environment.
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001519:Behavior; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D010789:Phototherapy; D012621:Seasons; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000502:physiology