The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depression
Abstract The self is experienced differently in depression. It is infused with pervasive low mood, and structured by negative self-related thoughts. The concept of the self has been difficult to define—one of the reasons it is now infrequently an object of enquiry for psychiatry—but findings from fu...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Publishing Group
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Translational Psychiatry |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-01790-8 |
| _version_ | 1818954774705340416 |
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| author | Christopher G. Davey Ben J. Harrison |
| author_facet | Christopher G. Davey Ben J. Harrison |
| author_sort | Christopher G. Davey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The self is experienced differently in depression. It is infused with pervasive low mood, and structured by negative self-related thoughts. The concept of the self has been difficult to define—one of the reasons it is now infrequently an object of enquiry for psychiatry—but findings from functional brain imaging and other neuroscience studies have provided new insights. They have elucidated how the self is supported by complex, hierarchical brain processes. Bodily sensations rise through the spinal cord, brainstem, and subcortical regions through to cortical networks, with the default mode network sitting at the apex, integrating interoceptive signals with information about the extended social environment. We discuss how this forms a “self axis”, and demonstrate how this axis is set awry by depression. Our self-axis model of depression establishes a new perspective on the disorder. It emphasises the multi-level nature of depression, and how impacts made at different explanatory levels influence others along the axis. It suggests that diverse treatments might be effective for depression, from lifestyle interventions to psychotherapies to medications: they target different aspects of the self, but changes at one level of the self axis can affect others along it. Our framework for depression establishes a central role for the self, which might again become a useful focus of investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T10:27:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5af9cf2082e5449e8b9c52d145f8c388 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-3188 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T10:27:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Translational Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-5af9cf2082e5449e8b9c52d145f8c3882022-12-21T19:43:48ZengNature Publishing GroupTranslational Psychiatry2158-31882022-01-011211910.1038/s41398-022-01790-8The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depressionChristopher G. Davey0Ben J. Harrison1Department of Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneAbstract The self is experienced differently in depression. It is infused with pervasive low mood, and structured by negative self-related thoughts. The concept of the self has been difficult to define—one of the reasons it is now infrequently an object of enquiry for psychiatry—but findings from functional brain imaging and other neuroscience studies have provided new insights. They have elucidated how the self is supported by complex, hierarchical brain processes. Bodily sensations rise through the spinal cord, brainstem, and subcortical regions through to cortical networks, with the default mode network sitting at the apex, integrating interoceptive signals with information about the extended social environment. We discuss how this forms a “self axis”, and demonstrate how this axis is set awry by depression. Our self-axis model of depression establishes a new perspective on the disorder. It emphasises the multi-level nature of depression, and how impacts made at different explanatory levels influence others along the axis. It suggests that diverse treatments might be effective for depression, from lifestyle interventions to psychotherapies to medications: they target different aspects of the self, but changes at one level of the self axis can affect others along it. Our framework for depression establishes a central role for the self, which might again become a useful focus of investigation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-01790-8 |
| spellingShingle | Christopher G. Davey Ben J. Harrison The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depression Translational Psychiatry |
| title | The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depression |
| title_full | The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depression |
| title_fullStr | The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depression |
| title_full_unstemmed | The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depression |
| title_short | The self on its axis: a framework for understanding depression |
| title_sort | self on its axis a framework for understanding depression |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-01790-8 |
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