DIURNAL MOOD VARIATION IN MELANCHOLIC PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS

In 30 melancholic patients and 21 healthy controls, diurnal mood varia tion was investigated on 3 successive days at 7.30 a.m., 11.30 a.m., 3 .30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. Daily courses with no variation or with a so-ca lled typical variation (morning low afternoon/evening high) occurred w ith the same frequency in both samples. Circadian mood variations vary substantially inter- and intraindividually in both depressive patient s and healthy controls. However, the controls reported short (ultradia n) mood variations more frequently than the patients. Using a semistru ctured interview, the subjective experience of diurnal mood variations was compared: In melancholic patients, mood variations occur spontane ously in more than half of all cases, whereas healthy controls attribu te them almost exclusively to their own activities and/or external cir cumstances. It is discussed whether 'typical' diurnal variations in me lancholic patients may have been emphasized in earlier psychopathologi cal literature not because of their frequency but because patients exp erience the circadian mood rhythm as uninfluenceable.