These results indicate that persons diagnosed with major depression report persistent, invariant low PA, or anhedonia, rather than persistent NA, which is thought to be a marker of major depression. In contrast, nondepressed persons showed moderate variability in their reports of PA, but little change in their lack of NA. Despite the significance of anhedonia as Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical one of the classic criteria for diagnosing clinical

depression, emphasis on dysphoria, ancrgia, and vegetative symptoms in depression has obscured recognition of the importance of the presence, absence, and dynamics of positive feelings. Just as absence of enjoyment and other positive emotions is a hallmark of depression, the temporal flow of positive and negative feelings provides potentially valuable information regarding the ongoing Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical course and prognosis for the disorder. We also suggest that some therapeutic interventions are uniquely capable of increasing the prevalence of positive feelings. For example, in their long program of research on the treatment of depression,

Lewisohn and colleagues10 have demonstrated that people are capable of increasing their frequency of positive experiences, and that such a change in the mix of PA and NA has a measurable therapeutic impact. The present article Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical will review recent work documenting the relevance of PA and NA to clinical depression and its course. Methods Affect data were collected from 554 residents (71 % female) of a large, urban geriatric center as part of a longitudinal study. Mean age for the sample was 83.3 Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical years (SD = 6.0). Sixty-nine percent of the participants resided in apartments and 31 % resided in the nursing home. The Philadelphia Geriatric Center Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale was used to assess affective states.2 This 10-item measure consists of Positive and Negative subscales rated on Likert scales ranging from 1 to 5. Items representing PA and NA were noted above. Other assessments included a Modified Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (MSADS),11 the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS),3 Fuld’s adaptation of the Blessed Memory-Information-Conccntration task (BMIC),12

Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS),6 and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS).5 The MSADS is a semistructured clinical assessment used in this case to determine patients’ level of depression: Thiamine-diphosphate kinase major, dysphoric, or nondepressed. The GDS is a 30-item, self-report, “PRT062607 chemical structure yes-no” format measure of depression developed specifically for older persons. The GDS docs not contain somatic, vegetative symptoms of depression, which are often symptoms of age rather than depression in this population. Scores may range from no depression (0) to severely depressed (30) and a score of >10 suggests clinically significant depression. The BMIC is a 33-item measure of cognitive impairment, which is scored by the number of incorrect responses. It includes questions pertaining to memory and concentration.