Download PDF
Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr 2001; 69(6): 268-277
DOI: 10.1055/s-2001-14461
ORIGINALARBEIT
Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Sozialer Rang und Depression - ein Beispiel „evolutionärer Psychopathologie”

Social rank and depression - an example of „evolutionary psychopathology”F. Pillmann
  • Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (Direktor: Prof. Dr. med. A. Marneros)
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
31 December 2001 (online)

Also available at
    Permissions and Reprints

Zusammenfassung:

Affektive Störungen sind pathologische Auslenkungen von vermutlich phylogenetisch alten psychologischen Mechanismen, deren adaptive Funktion im evolutionsbiologischen Sinn umstritten ist. Nach der Rangordnungshypothese affektiver Störungen basieren depressive Syndrome auf der Aktivierung eines Mechanismus, der der nachhaltigen Unterordnung in kompetitiven Situationen dient und das Individuum vor den Folgen ungehemmt eskalierender Auseinandersetzungen schützt. Der vorliegende Aufsatz diskutiert kritisch, inwieweit eine solche Annahme durch biologische, klinische und psychologische Befunde gestützt wird. In Tiermodellen zeigen sich Parallelen im Erscheinungsbild von Subordination und Depression. Für Primaten charakteristisch ist die hohe Bedeutung von affiliativen Verhaltensweisen und von sozialen Bindungen für das Rangverhalten. Biochemische und pharmakologische Gemeinsamkeiten von Subordinationsverhalten und Depression umfassen eine Aktivierung der Stress-Achse, verminderte serotonerge Neurotransmission und Beeinflussbarkeit durch Antidepressiva. Ungeklärt ist bei vielen Tiermodellen noch die Frage der Abgrenzbarkeit spezifischer sozialer Unterordnung von einer unspezifischen Stressreaktion. Klinische und psychologische Aspekte depressiver Syndrome sind teilweise vereinbar mit einer Deutung als übersteigerte submissive Reaktion. Das Erleben und Verhalten Depressiver und die psychosoziale Auslösung depressiver Syndrome sind jedoch nur selten unter dem Aspekt der Rangordnungshypothese untersucht worden, sodass über klinisch plausible Zusammenhänge hinaus bisher nur wenige unterstützende empirische Daten vorliegen. Eine Grenze für die Rangordnungshypothese bilden die typisch endogen-phasisch verlaufenden Depressionen und die bipolaren Störungen. Zwar ist gerade das Erscheinungsbild der bipolaren Erkrankungen vereinbar mit der pathologischen Auslenkung eines Affektsystems, das der Regulierung von Dominanz und Submission dient, die pathologische Auslenkbarkeit selbst ist aber durch die Rangordnungshypothese allein nicht befriedigend erklärbar.

Social Rank and Depression - An Example of „Evolutionary Psychopathology”:

Affective disorders are pathological alterations of phylogenetically old emotional mechanisms the adaptive function of which is still a matter of debate. According to the social competition hypothesis, depressive syndromes involve activation of a mechanism serving subordination in competitive situations. This mechanism protects the individual from the damaging consequences of an escalating agonistic encounter. The paper critically discusses supporting evidence culled from biological, clinical and psychological findings. Animal models show phenomenological similarities between subordination and depression. In primates affiliative behavior and social bonding are closely linked to rank-related behaviors. Common biochemical and pharmacological features of subordination and depression include an activation of the stress axis, diminished serotonergic neurotransmission and modification by antidepressants. However, the discrimination between a specific subordination reaction and an unspecific stress response is often controversial. Many clinical and psychological aspects of depressive syndromes may be understood as an - exaggerated - submissive behavior, but have rarely been studied in that light. Typical endogenous depression and bipolar disorders challenge the social competition hypothesis. While the manic syndrome, due to its similarity to dominance behavior, supports the link between social competition and affective disorders, the cyclic alteration of mood cannot be sufficiently explained by the social competition hypothesis alone.

Literatur

  • 1 Heinrich K. Zur Bedeutung der Stammesgeschichte des menschlichen Erlebens und Verhaltens für Neurologie und Psychopathologie.  Homo. 1965;  16 65-77
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Kretschmer E. Hysterie, Reflex und Instinkt. 5 Aufl. Stuttgart: Thieme 1948
    Google Scholar
  • 3 Ey H. Études psychiatriques. Vol 1: Historique, méthodologie, psychopathologie générale. 2° éd. revue et augmentée (Erstauflage 1948). Paris: Desclée de Brouwer 1952
    Google Scholar
  • 4 Ey H. Grundlagen einer organo-dynamischen Auffassung der Psychiatrie.  Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr. 1952;  20 195-209
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Bilz R. Psychotische Umwelt. Versuch einer biologisch orientierten Psychopathologie. Stuttgart: Thieme 1962
    Google Scholar
  • 6 Bilz R. Paläoanthropologie. Der neue Mensch in der Sicht der Verhaltensforschung. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp 1971
    Google Scholar
  • 7 Barkow J H, Cosmides L, Tooby J. (eds) .The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1992
    Google Scholar
  • 8 Nesse R M, Williams G C. Warum wir krank werden. München: Beck 1997
    Google Scholar
  • 9 McGuire M T, Troisi A. Darwinian Psychiatry. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1998
    Google Scholar
  • 10 Brüne M. Einführung in evolutionsbiologische Konzepte zum Verständnis psychischer Störungen. In: Brüne M, Ribbert H (Hrsg). Evolutionsbiologische Konzepte in der Psychiatrie Frankfurt [u. a.]: Lang 2000: 37-86
    Google Scholar
  • 11 Gould S J, Lewontin R C. The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptionist programme.  Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1979;  205 581-598
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Hinde R A. The adaptionist approach has limits.  Psychological Inquiry. 1995;  6 50-53
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Buss D M. Evolutionary Psychology. Boston [u. a.]: Allan and Bacon 1999
    Google Scholar
  • 14 Voland E. Grundriss der Soziobiologie. 2. überarbeitete Aufl. Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag 2000
    Google Scholar
  • 15 Steven A, Price J. Evolutionary Psychiatry. London and New York: Routledge 1996
    Google Scholar
  • 16 Nesse R. Emotional disorders in evolutionary perspective.  Br J Med Psychol. 1998;  71 397-415
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Cosmides L, Tooby J. Evolutionary psychology and the emotions. In: Lewis M, Haviland-Jones JM (eds). Handbook of Emotions. 2nd ed New York: Guilford 2000
    Google Scholar
  • 18 Darwin C. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Third edition. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1998
    Google Scholar
  • 19 Meyer W-U, Schützwohl A, Reisenzein R. Einführung in die Emotionspsychologie. Band 2: Evolutionspsychologische Emotionstheorien. Bern, Göttingen, Toronto, Seattle: Hans Huber 1997
    Google Scholar
  • 20 Price J S. The dominance hierarchy and the evolution of mental illness.  Lancet. 1967;  2 243-246
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Price J, Sloman L, Gardner Jr R, Gilbert P, Rohde P. The social competition hypothesis of depression.  Br J Psychiatry. 1994;  164 309-315
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 22 Price J. The adaptive function of mood change.  Br J Med Psychol. 1998;  71 465-477
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 23 Sloman L, Gilbert P. (eds) .Subordination and Defeat. An Evolutionary Approach to Mood Disorders and Their Therapy. Mahwah, London: Lawrence Erlbaum 2000
    Google Scholar
  • 24 Franck D. Verhaltensbiologie. Stuttgart, New York: Thieme 1997
    Google Scholar
  • 25 Schjelderup-Ebbe T. Beiträge zur Sozialpsychologie des Haushuhns.  Zeitschrift für Psychologie. 1922;  88 225-252
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 26 Schein M W. (ed) .Social Hierarchy and Dominance. Benchmark Papers in Animal Behavior Series 3. Orlando: Academic 1975
    Google Scholar
  • 27 Ellis L. Dominance and reproductive success among nonhuman animals: a cross-species comparison.  Ethology and Sociobiology. 1995;  16 257-333
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 28 Pusey A, Williams J, Goodall J. The influence of dominance rank on the reproductive success of female chimpanzees.  Science. 1997;  277 828-831
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 29 Eibl-Eibesfeldt I. Grundriss der vergleichenden Verhaltensforschung. 8. überarbeitete Aufl. München, Zürich: Piper 1999
    Google Scholar
  • 30 Bernstein I S. Dominance: the baby and the bathwater.  Behav Brain Sc. 1981;  4 419-458
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 31 McFarland D. Biologie des Verhaltens. 2. neubearbeitete Aufl. Heidelberg, Berlin: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag 1999
    Google Scholar
  • 32 Frank R H. Choosing the Right Pond: Human Behavior and the Quest for Status. New York: Oxford University Press 1985
    Google Scholar
  • 33 Schjelderup-Ebbe T. Social behavior of birds. In: Murchison C (ed). Handbook of Social Psychology Worcester: Clark University Press 1935: 947-972
    Google Scholar
  • 34 Jones I H, Stoddart D M, Mallick J. Towards a sociobiological model of depression. A marsupial model (Petaurus breviceps).  Br J Psychiatry. 1995;  166 475-479
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 35 Meerlo P, Overkamp G J, Daan S, Van Den Hoofdakker R H, Koolhaas J M. Changes in behaviour and body weight following a single or double social defeat in rats.  Stress. 1996;  1 21-32
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 36 Mallick J, Stoddart D M, Jones I, Bradley A J. Behavioral and endocrinological correlates of social status in the male sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps).  Physiol Behav. 1994;  55 1131-1134
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 37 Kudryavtseva N N, Bakshtanovskaya I V, Koryakina L A. Social model of depression in mice of C57BL/6J strain.  Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1991;  38 315-320
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 38 Blanchard D C, Spencer R L, Weiss S M, Blanchard R J, McEwen B, Sakai R R. Visible burrow system as a model of chronic social stress: behavioral and neuroendocrine correlates.  Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1995;  20 117-134
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 39 Meerlo P, Overkamp G J, Benning M A, Koolhaas J M, Van den Hoofdakker R H. Long-term changes in open field behaviour following a single social defeat in rats can be reversed by sleep deprivation.  Physiol Behav. 1996;  60 115-119
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 40 Albonetti M E, Farabollini F. Social stress by repeated defeat - effects on social behavior and emotionality.  Behav Brain Res. 1994;  62 187-193
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 41 Shively C A, Laber-Laird K, Anton R F. Behavior and physiology of social stress and depression in female cynomolgus monkeys.  Biol Psychiatry. 1997;  41 871-882
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 42 Abbott D H, Hodges J K, George L M. Social status controls LH secretion and ovulation in female marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus).  J Endocrinol. 1988;  117 329-339
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 43 Tornatzky W, Miczek K A. Long-term impairment of autonomic circadian rhythms after brief intermittent social stress.  Physiol Behav. 1993;  53 983-993
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 44 Meerlo P, De Boer S F, Koolhaas J M, Daan S, Van den Hoofdakker R H. Changes in daily rhythmus of body temperature and activity after a single social defeat in rats.  Physiol Behav. 1996;  59 735-739
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 45 Parker G A. Assessment strategy and the evolution of fighting behaviour.  J Theor Biol. 1974;  47 223-243
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 46 Blanchard D C, Sakai R R, McEwen B, Weiss S M, Blanchard R J. Subordination stress: behavioral, brain, and neuroendocrine correlates.  Behav Brain Res. 1993;  58 113-121
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 47 Shively C A. Social subordination stress, behavior, and central monoaminergic function in female cynomolgus monkeys.  Biol Psychiatry. 1998;  44 882-891
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 48 Grant E C, Chance M RA. Rank order in caged rats.  Anim Behav. 1958;  6 183-194
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 49 Dillon J E, Raleigh M J, McGuire M T, Bergin-Pollack D, Yuwiler A. Plasma catecholamines and social behavior in male vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus).  Physiol Behav. 1992;  51 973-977
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 50 Rapkin A J, Pollack D B, Raleigh M J, Stone B, McGuire M T. Menstrual cycle and social behavior in vervet monkeys.  Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1995;  20 289-297
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 51 de Waal F B. The integration of dominance and social bonding in primates.  Q Rev Biol. 1986;  61 459-479
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 52 Raleigh M J, McGuire M T. Female influences on male dominance acquisition in captive vervet monkeys, Cercopithecus aethiops sabeus.  Anim Behav. 1989;  38 59-67
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 53 Harcourt A, de Waal F. (eds) .Coalitions and Alliances in Humans and other Animals. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1992
    Google Scholar
  • 54 de Waal F. Chimpanzee Politics. New York: Harper and Row 1982
    Google Scholar
  • 55 Brown G W, Harris T O, Eales M J. Aetiology of anxiety and depressive disorders in an inner-city population. 2. Comorbidity and adversity.  Psychol Med. 1993;  23 155-165
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 56 Paykel E S. Life events, social support and depression.  Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl. 1994;  377 50-58
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 57 Bowlby J. Loss - Sadness and Separation. London: Hogarth Press 1980
    Google Scholar
  • 58 Holsboer F. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system. In: Paykel ES (ed). Handbook of Affective Disorders New York, London: Guilford Press 1992: 267-287
    Google Scholar
  • 59 Marneros A. Handbuch der unipolaren und bipolaren Erkrankungen. Stuttgart, New York: Thieme 1999
    Google Scholar
  • 60 Archer J. Effects of aggressive behavior on the adrenal cortex in male laboratory mice.  J Mammal. 1970;  51 327-332
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 61 Sapolsky R M. A. E. Bennett Award paper. Adrenocortical function, social rank, and personality among wild baboons.  Biol Psychiatry. 1990;  28 862-878
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 62 Sapolsky R M, Alberts S C, Altmann J. Hypercortisolism associated with social subordinance or social isolation among wild baboons.  Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1997;  54 1137-1143
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 63 Paykel E S. (ed) .Handbook of Affective Disorders. New York, London: Guilford Press 1992
    Google Scholar
  • 64 Levitan R D, Hasey G, Sloman L. Major depression and the involuntary defeat strategy: biological correlates. In: Sloman L, Gilbert P (eds). Subordination and Defeat. An Evolutionary Approach to Mood Disorders and Their Therapy Mahwah, London: Lawrence Erlbaum 2000: 95-118
    Google Scholar
  • 65 Edwards D H, Kravitz E A. Serotonin, social status and aggression.  Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1997;  7 812-819
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 66 McGuire M, Fawzy F, Spar J, Troisi A. Dysthymic disorder, regulation-dysregulation theory, CNS blood flow, and CNS metabolism. In: Sloman L, Gilbert P (eds). Subordination and Defeat. An Evolutionary Approach to Mood Disorders and Their Therapy Mahwah, London: Lawrence Erlbaum 2000: 71-93
    Google Scholar
  • 67 Raleigh M J, McGuire M T, Brammer G L, Yuwiler A. Social and environmental influences on blood serotonin concentrations in monkeys.  Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1984;  41 405-410
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 68 Raleigh M J, McGuire M T, Brammer G L, Pollack D B, Yuwiler A. Serotonergic mechanisms promote dominance acquisition in adult male vervet monkeys.  Brain Res. 1991;  559 181-190
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 69 Mitchell P J, Redfern P H. Chronic treatment with clomipramine and mianserin increases the hierarchical position of subdominant rats housed in triads.  Behav Pharmacol. 1992;  3 239-247
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 70 Mitchell P J, Redfern P H. Acute and chronic antidepressant drug treatments induce opposite effects in the social behavior of rats.  J Psychopharmacol. 1992;  6 241-257
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 71 Mitchell P J, Fletcher A. Venlafaxine exhibits pre-clinical antidepressant activity in the resident-intruder social interaction paradigm.  Neuropharmacology. 1993;  32 1001-1019
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 72 Willner P, D'Aquila P S, Coventry T, Brian P. Loss of social status: Preliminary evaluation of a novel animal model of depression.  Psychopharmacol. 1995;  9 207-213
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 73 Marrow L P, Overton P G, Brain P F. A re-evaluation of social defeat as an animal model of depression.  J Psychopharmacol. 1999;  13 115-121
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 74 Koolhaas J M, De Boer S F, De Rutter A J, Meerlo P, Sgoifo A. Social stress in rats and mice.  Acta Physiol Scand Suppl. 1997;  640 69-72
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 75 Beck A T. Depression: Causes and Treatment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press 1970
    Google Scholar
  • 76 Gilbert P, Allan S. The role of defeat and entrapment (arrested flight) in depression: an exploration of an evolutionary view.  Psychol Med. 1998;  28 585-598
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 77 Gilbert P, Pehl J, Allan S. The phenomenology of shame and guilt: An empirical investigation.  Br J Med Psychol. 1994;  67 23-36
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 78 Allan S, Gilbert P. Submissive behaviour and psychopathology.  Br J Clin Psychol. 1997;  36 467-488
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 79 Paykel E S. Life events in affective and schizoaffective disorders. In: Marneros A, Tsuang M (eds). Affective and Schizoaffective Disorders Berlin [u. a.]: Springer 1990
    Google Scholar
  • 80 Finlay-Jones R, Brown G W. Types of stressful life event and the onset of anxiety and depressive disorders.  Psychol Med. 1981;  11 803-815
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 81 Kessler R C, McGonagle K A, Swartz M, Blazer D G, Nelson C B. Sex and depression in the National Comorbidity Survey: I: Lifetime prevalence, chronicity and recurrence.  J Affect Disord. 1993;  29 85-96
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 82 Gater R, Tansella M, Korten A, Tiemens B G, Mavreas V G, Olatawura M O. Sex differences in the prevalence and detection of depressive and anxiety disorders in general health care settings: report from the World Health Organization Collaborative Study on Psychological Problems in General Health Care.  Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998;  55 405-413
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 83 Bebbington P E, Dunn G, Jenkins R, Lewis G, Brugha T, Farrell M, Meltzer H. The influence of age and sex on the prevalence of depressive conditions: report from the National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity.  Psychol Med. 1998;  28 9-19
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 84 Archer J. Sex differences in social behavior. Are the social role and evolutionary explanations compatible.  Am Psychol. 1996;  51 909-917
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 85 Campbell A. Staying alive: evolution, culture, and women's intrasexual aggression.  Behav Brain Sciences. 1999;  22 203-252
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 86 Wilson D R. Evolutionary epidemiology and manic depression.  Br J Med Psychol. 1998;  71 375-395
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 87 Andrews B, Brown G W. Social support, onset of depression and personality. An exploratory analysis.  Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 1988;  23 99-108
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 88 Brown G W, Andrews B, Bifulco A, Veiel H. Self-esteem and depression. 1. Measurement issues and prediction of onset.  Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 1990;  25 200-209
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 89 Bothwell R, Scott J. The influence of cognitive variables on recovery in depressed inpatients.  J Affect Disord. 1997;  43 207-212
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 90 Tooby J, Cosmides L. The past explains the present: emotional adaptations and the structure of ancestral environments.  Ethology and Sociobiology. 1990;  11 375-424
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 91 Stefanis C N, Stefanis N C. Diagnosis of depressive disorders: a review. In: Maj M, Sartorius N (eds). Depressive Disorders Chichester [u. a.]:Wiley 1999: 1-51
    Google Scholar
  • 92 Kendler K S. The diagnostic validity of melancholic major depression in a population-based sample of female twins.  Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1997;  54 299-304
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 93 Schotte C K, Maes M, Cluydts R, Cosyns P. Cluster analytic validation of the DSM melancholic depression. The threshold model: integration of quantiative and qualitative distinctions between unipolar depressive subtypes.  Psychiatry Res. 1997;  71 181-195
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 94 Gardner R. Mechanism in manic-depressive disorder: an evolutionary model.  Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982;  39 1436-1441
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 95 Nesse R. Evolutionary explanations of emotions.  Human Nature. 1990;  1 261-289
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 96 Nesse R M. Is depression an adaptation?.  Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;  57 14-20
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 97 Plutchik R. Emotion: a Psychoevolutionary Synthesis. New York: Harper and Row 1980
    Google Scholar
  • 98 Henriques G R. Depression as a behavioral shutdown mechanism.  Journal of Science and Health Policy. 2000;  1 152-165
    PubMedGoogle Scholar

Dr Frank Pillmann

Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie

Julius-Kühn-Straße 7
06097 Halle

Email: E-mail: frank.pillmann@medizin.uni-halle.de