Changes in norepinephrine output following light therapy for fall/winter seasonal depression

Recurrent fall/winter depressions that remit during spring and summer have been called Seasonal Affective Disorders (SAD) (Wehr and Rosenthal 1989). The pathophysiology of SAD, its relationship to nonseasonal affective disorders, and the mechanism of action of light therapy, which is effective in treating SAD, remain to be elucidated (Depue et al 1989; Jacobsen et al 1987; James et al 1986; Joseph-Vanderpool et al 1991; Skwerer et al 1988, Terman et al 1989). Norepinephrine (NE) may play a role in the mechanisms of action of many antidepressant treatments (Schildkraut 1965) that alter NE metabolism (Schildkraut et al 1964 and 1965) and decrease the urinary output of NE and its metabolites, i.e., “whole-body NE turnover” (WBNET) (Golden et al 1988; Potter et al 1988). The present study explored whether light therapy also reduces the urinary output of NE and its metabolites.