Inflammation: Depression Fans the Flames and Feasts on the Heat

Depression and inflammation fuel one another. Inflammation plays a key role in depression's pathogenesis for a subset of depressed individuals; depression also primes larger cytokine responses to stressors and pathogens that do not appear to habituate. Accordingly, treatment decisions may be informed by attention to questions of how (pathways) and for whom (predispositions) these links exist, which are the focus of this article. When combined with predisposing factors (moderators such as childhood adversity and obesity), stressors and pathogens can lead to exaggerated or prolonged inflammatory responses. The resulting sickness behaviors (e.g., pain, disturbed sleep), depressive symptoms, and negative health…