Chapter 1.
Introduction
Light Therapy: Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder
Author: Ronald J. Comer
Princeton University
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1.1 Light Therapy: Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder
Clinicians have become aware that many people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). They become clinically depressed each winter, apparently, due to the decrease in light that occurs during winter months and to the corresponding increase in their bodies’ secretions of the hormone melatonin. One helpful treatment for this kind of depression is light therapy, treatment that provides S.A.D. sufferers with extra doses of light-levels they would be receiving from the sun if they lived closer to the equator. This video demonstrates light therapy and its dramatic impact on some persons with S.A.D.
1.2 Check Your Understanding
1.
1. The pattern of depression that Alan exhibits in the video is known as ____________.
2. The main reason people suffer from this disorder is believed to be abnormal levels of the hormone __________, which is released in the dark and which promotes lethargy in large enough doses.
3. As a likely consequence of its relationship to the availability of light, the disorder featured in the video case is far less common in parts of the world that are close to ____________.
4. The most effective current treatment for this disorder is ______________, which was demonstrated in the video.
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