Fighting Chance: How Unexpected Observations and Unintended Outcomes Shape the Science and Treatment of Depression

Metaphorically the ‘black dog’ refers to depression, a disorder that drowns its victims in desperate despondency and often drives the sufferer to suicide. In this encyclopedic examination of the studies and research into this problem, science writer Sarah Zabel recaps the investigations, therapies, theories, and some brief case histories of this distressing disorder. Explorations touch upon the drugs such as the monoamines and tricyclic antidepressants that act on the uptake of neurotransmitters. Genetic anomalies are considered as well as the role of cerebral glial cells or possibly malfunctioning mitochondria as suspect agents in causing this mental condition. Factors such as epigenetics, diet, sleep, stress, trauma, and even the makeup of the gut microbiome are studied as conceivable contributors to this mental mood. Therapeutic psychological treatments are described and the threat of suicide is explored. This scholarly probe into the current status of this depressive condition and the numerous studies provides the general reader with insight into its complexity. Helpfully several anatomical descriptions are aided by explanatory diagrams. While this book has a useful glossary and lengthy footnotes, it, unfortunately, lacks an index. Such a text, so rich in detail, demands an index.