Paul W Andrews & Andy Thompson - The Bright Side of Being Blue: Depression as an adaptation for analyzing complex problems [UPDATED]

This is an interesting article, but as near as I can tell, it can only be read online or printed - no download. This article was the foundation for Jonah Lehrer's recent article in the New York Times Magazine on Depression's Upside. This article generated some serious discussion, including a biting response from Dr. Ron Pies, of SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and editor of Psychiatric Times. Jonah has since responded to Dr. Pies.

It's interesting to see important people discussing important topics. These are important for the progression of the field.

For what it's worth, I'm pretty much not buying the evolutionary psychology position that we evolved depression to solve complex problems - sounds silly when you say it out loud.

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And by the way . . . . Seriously, folks, it's called Open Access - get used to it. Making people pay $15 or more (I've seen as much as $45) for a single article is both criminal and stupid. Do you want people to know about your research, or do you want it to collect dust in a university library, never to be seen again?

I'm sure it isn't the authors, but the publishers, who pull this shit - but it must stop. Open Access is here to stay, and Peer-2-Peer is the future - we will cut out the publishers entirely one day.

Psychol Rev. 2009 Jul;116(3):620-54.

The bright side of being blue: depression as an adaptation for analyzing complex problems

Andrews PW, Thomson JA Jr.

Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0126, USA. pandrews@vcu.edu

Depression is the primary emotional condition for which help is sought. Depressed people often report persistent rumination, which involves analysis, and complex social problems in their lives. Analysis is often a useful approach for solving complex problems, but it requires slow, sustained processing, so disruption would interfere with problem solving. The analytical rumination hypothesis proposes that depression is an evolved response to complex problems, whose function is to minimize disruption and sustain analysis of those problems by (a) giving the triggering problem prioritized access to processing resources, (b) reducing the desire to engage in distracting activities (anhedonia), and (c) producing psychomotor changes that reduce exposure to distracting stimuli. As processing resources are limited, sustained analysis of the triggering problem reduces the ability to concentrate on other things. The hypothesis is supported by evidence from many levels-genes, neurotransmitters and their receptors, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuroenergetics, pharmacology, cognition, behavior, and efficacy of treatments. In addition, the hypothesis provides explanations for puzzling findings in the depression literature, challenges the belief that serotonin transmission is low in depression, and has implications for treatment. Copyright (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

PMID: 19618990 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

You can read the whole article online in Google Docs.

Tags: Paul W Andrews, The Bright Side of Being Blue, Depression as an adaptation for analyzing complex problems, Andy Thompson, Psychology, depression, problem solving, Psychological review, analytical rumination hypothesis, evolutionary psychology, Jonah Lehrer, Dr. Ron Pies, New York Times Magazine