چکیده :
Mood disorders are serious diseases that affect a large portion of the population. There have been many hypotheses put forth over the
years to explain the development of major depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders. These hypotheses include
disruptions in monoamine transmission, hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis function, immune function, neurogenesis, mitochondrial
dysfunction, and neuropeptide signaling (to name a few). Nearly all people suffering from mood disorders have significant disruptions
in circadian rhythms and the sleep/wake cycle. In fact, altered sleep patterns are one of the major diagnostic criteria for these disorders.
Moreover, environmental disruptions to circadian rhythms, including shift work, travel across time zones, and irregular social schedules,
tend to precipitate or exacerbate mood-related episodes. Recent studies have found that molecular clocks are found throughout the
brain and body where they participate in the regulation of most physiological processes, including those thought to be involved in
mood regulation. This review will summarize recent data that implicate the circadian system as a vital regulator of a variety of systems
that are thought to play a role in the development of mood disorders