Depression and sickness behavior are Janus-faced responses to shared inflammatory pathways

It is of considerable translational importance whether depression is a form or a consequence of sickness behavior. Sickness behavior is a behavioral complex induced by infections and immune trauma and mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines. It is an adaptive response that enhances recovery by conserving energy to combat acute inflammation. There are considerable phenomenological similarities between sickness behavior and depression, for example, behavioral inhibition, anorexia and weight loss, and melancholic (anhedonia), physio-somatic (fatigue, hyperalgesia, malaise), anxiety and neurocognitive symptoms. In clinical depression, however, a transition occurs to sensitization of immuno-inflammatory pathways,…

• BS
  Bristol-Myers Squibb
• EL
  Eli Lilly and Company
• P
  Pfizer
• S
  Sanofi
• GR
  Geelong Region Medical Research Foundation
• BB
  Beyond Blue
• S
  Servier
• HL
  H. Lundbeck A/S
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• NH
  National Health and Medical Research Council
• C
  Cilag