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Psychiatric Disorders

Seasonality of brain function: role in psychiatric disorders


Seasonality patterns are reported in various psychiatric disorders. The current paper summarizes findings on brain adaptations associated with seasonal changes, factors that contribute to individual differences and their implications for psychiatric disorders. Changes in circadian rhythms are likely to prominently mediate these seasonal effects since light strongly entrains the internal clock modifying brain function. Inability of circadian rhythms to accommodate to seasonal changes might increase the risk for mood and behavior problems as well as worse clinical outcomes in psychiatric disorders.

Understanding the mechanisms that account for inter-individual variations in seasonality is relevant to the development of individualized prevention and treatment for psychiatric disorders. Despite promising findings, seasonal effects are still understudied and only controlled as a covariate in most brain research. Rigorous neuroimaging studies with thoughtful experimental designs, powered sample sizes and high temporal resolution alongside deep characterization of the environment are needed to better understand the seasonal adaptions of the human brain as a function of age, sex, and geographic latitude and to investigate the mechanisms underlying the alterations in seasonal adaptation in psychiatric disorders.

Conclusions and future agenda

We reviewed seasonal effects on the human brain by first summarizing neuroimaging findings on relevant neurotransmitters, intrinsic brain networks, brain structure and task-induced brain activation. Most of the evidence from published studies point to the important role of DA and 5HT systems in seasonal fluctuations of psychiatric symptoms. Beyond 5-HT and DA, the seasonal patterns of other neurotransmitter systems and neuropeptides remain to be investigated in humans.

brain function, seasonality, psychiatric disorders, circadian rhythms, serotonin, melatonin, seasonal affective disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, environmental factors, vitamin D, sleep-wake cycles, light therapy, genetic predisposition, immune function, hormonal balance, hypothalamus, cognitive function, mood regulation.

#BrainFunction #Seasonality #MentalHealth #PsychiatricDisorders #CircadianRhythms #Serotonin #Melatonin #SAD #Depression #Anxiety #LightTherapy #MoodDisorders #VitaminD #SleepHealth #HormonalImbalance #CognitiveHealth #Neurobiology #MoodStabilization #MentalWellness #Neuroscience

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