title: Conceptual underpinnings and empirical support for the mood spectrum.
abstract: This article presents an overview of the conceptual basis and empirical support for a unitary view of mood disturbance. The authors consider this general conceptualization of psychiatric disturbance as consisting of an array of related symptoms and behavioral features that define the "spectrum" of each disorder. They discuss how this conceptual framework aids in overcoming what they believe to be the false dichotomy between unipolar and bipolar mood disorders and in evaluating subthreshold and unusual presentations. They also describe the structured clinical interview and self-report instrument that they have developed to facilitate systematic assessment of the proposed mood spectrum. Finally, they summarize the clinical utility of such an approach to the description and assessment of patients with mood disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Biotechnology, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56100 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Cassano
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miniati
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rucci
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fagiolini
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pini
authors.forename: M Katherine
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Shear
authors.forename: Jack D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Maser
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012647:Self-Assessment; D013577:Syndrome