Genetic correlates of the cortisol awakening response in patients remitted from major depressive disorder
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and depressive states cause a major toll on individuals suffering from it and on society as a whole.Today's therapeutic options for MDD are far from ideal and a majority of patients experience relapse.Current therapeutic strategy suffers from the lack of biological cues of individual variability in disease etiology.The steroid "stress hormone" cortisol has received particular focus in this context, due to its interaction with the neurotransmitter serotonin, which has been strongly associated with mood control, cognitive and emotional processes.Assessing and understanding cortisol dynamics in a clinical setting, especially in terms of its diurnal rhythm, will increase understanding of subtypes of MDD.The increase in cortisol production in response to awakening (the cortisol awakening response, or CAR) is frequently disturbed in MDD, and is the focus of a longterm ongoing study of cognitive therapy strategies at the University of Oslo, Department of Psychology.Sample preparation, hormone measurements, and genotyping for moleculargenetic factors underlying individual variation is performed in a collaborative project including the research group in physiology and neurobiology.While the main study is still This master thesis was carried out at the University of Oslo and was the result of a new collaboration between the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Biosciences.I have many people to thank for helping in realizing this thesis.First Göran E. Nilsson for your interesting lectures and welcoming me into a great group.My external supervisor Øyvind Øverli deserves a big thanks for going above and beyond, teaching me the nits and grits of writing a good story and attempting to make statistics logical, I know it was a lot of work.Cathrine E. Fagernes and Ida B. Johansen thank you both so much for helping me survive in the lab and for your helpful advise in the writing process.Marco A. Vindas thank you for your patience and positive mind-set and great help in the writing process!Dag Inge Våge thank you so much for your expertise help on the melanocortin system, which has inspired me to learn more.Christina Sørensen thank you for taking the time to teach me flawless lab practice and the ELISA method
Author: Kristine Høiem Rønning
Language: English
Subfield: Behavioral Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2611446419