[Winter depression and light therapy]

Abstract

This paper is a review of the literature on winter depression--a from of seasonal affective disorder encountered most often. Winter depression was diagnosed first in the early eighties in the USA and since then it has been the subject of extensive research. The results of many studies confirmed the efficacy of light in the treatment of winter depression and at present phototherapy is considered the treatment of choice of this disorder. However, mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of winter depression and therapeutic response to light evoke great controversy and hypotheses are still evolving.