PHOTOTHERAPY FOR SEASONAL AFFECTIVE-DISORDER - A BLIND COMPARISON OF 3 DIFFERENT SCHEDULES

The authors investigated the outcome of an alternating time schedule v ersus two fixed schedules (either morning or evening) of bright light treatment for seasonal affective disorder. The subjects were 31 patien ts who met DSM-III-R criteria for major depression with a seasonal pat tern. No statistically significant difference was observed among patie nts in the three groups for response criteria after 1 week of treatmen t. These results support the use of more flexible phototherapy schedul es.