The DOI matches its Crossref record; 93 of the 95 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Affective neuroscientific and neuropsychoanalytic approaches to two intractable psychiatric problems: Why depression feels so bad and what addicts really want
Abstract
The affective foundations of depression and addictions are discussed from a cross-species - animal to human - perspective of translational psychiatric research. Depression is hypothesized to arise from an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to terminate protracted activation of separation-distress (PANIC/GRIEF) systems of the brain, a shutdown mechanism which may be in part mediated by down-regulation of dopamine based reward-SEEKING resources. This shutdown of the brain's core motivational machinery is organized by shifts in multiple peptide systems, particularly increased dynorphin (kappa opioids). Addictions are conceived to be primarily mediated by obsessive behaviors sustained by reward-SEEKING circuits in the case of psychostimulant abuse, and also powerful consummatory-PLEASURE responses in the case of opioid abuse, which in turn capture SEEKING circuits. Both forms of addiction, as well as others, eventually deplete reward-SEEKING resources, leading to a state of dysphoria which can only temporarily be reversed by drugs of abuse, thereby promoting a negative affect that sustains addictive cycles. In other words, the opponent affective process - the dysphoria of diminished SEEKING resources - that can be aroused by sustained over-arousal of separation-distress (PANIC/GRIEF) as well as direct pharmacological over-stimulation and depletion of SEEKING resources, may be a common denominator for the genesis of both depression and addiction. Envisioning the foundation of such psychiatric problems as being in imbalances of the basic mammalian emotional systems that engender prototype affective states may provide more robust translational research strategies, coordinated with, rather than simply focusing on, the underlying molecular dynamics. Emotional vocalizations might be one of the best ways to monitor the underlying affective dynamics in commonly used rodent models of psychiatric disorders.
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“If adversity levels exceed their regulatory capacity, they may develop depressive reaction patterns”
From Childhood adversities and adolescent depression: A matter of both risk and resilience (2014) · cites this paper as Zellner, Watt, Solms, & Panksepp, 2011
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The Effects of Atypical Antipsychotics on Implicit Reward Learning in Schizophrenia
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The Role of Primary Emotional Traits in Predicting Borderline Personality Symptoms
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Social trauma and the mu-opioid system in depression
Malcolm‐Smith, S. (2011) · Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town)
Latifi, A., Unterrainer, ., Jauk, E., Slanitz, C., Straßnig, S., Herzl, T., Wagner‐Skacel, J., Doering, S., & Fuchshuber, J. (2026) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1080/00223891.2026.2669304
Metadata
- Authors
- Zellner, M. R., Watt, D. F., Solms, M., & Panksepp, J.
- Affiliations
- Rockefeller University (US)
- Boston University (US)
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- Washington State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Zellner, Margaret R.
- ORCID
- Solms, Mark
- Venue
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-10
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 2000-2008
- ISSN
- 0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1978020297
- Cited by
- 112
- References
- 95
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 0.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- depression, addiction, affective neuroscience, neuropsychoanalysis, reward seeking, dopamine, dynorphin, kappa opioid receptor, dysphoria, stimulant abuse, opioid abuse, compulsive behavior, emotional vocalizations, translational psychiatry, evolutionary psychiatry
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Dependency, Psychological, Depressive Disorder, Humans, Neurosciences, Psychoanalytic Theory, Reward, Substance-Related Disorders, Pleasure, Drug-Seeking Behavior
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