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Biological aspect of hyperthymic temperament: light, sleep, and serotonin

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Abstract

Rationale

Hyperthymic temperament is one of several premorbid temperaments putatively associated with bipolar disorder. Several reports suggest that depressive patients with hyperthymic temperament may belong to the proposed soft bipolar spectrum.

Objectives

To investigate biological aspects of hyperthymic temperament, the present study examined daily activity, sleep time, central serotonergic function, and other relevant variables in relation to hyperthymic temperament in healthy subjects.

Methods

Fifty six healthy subjects were monitored via the actigraphy system to measure daily total activity, sleep time, and illuminance. A neuroendocrine challenge test was performed to estimate central serotonergic function.

Results

Multiple regression analysis revealed that higher illuminance of daytime, greater fluctuation in sleep time, and lower central serotonergic function significantly and independently predicted hyperthymic temperament scores.

Conclusions

The present findings suggest that light, sleep, and serotonin are crucial factors in understanding hyperthymic temperament, which may be common to bipolar disorder.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our great appreciation to Dr. Tsuyoshi Akiyama for his kind permission of the use of TEMPS—a Japanese version. This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (21591523) from Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and the Research Grant (21-B-2) for Nervous and Mental Disorders from the Ministry of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, Idaigaoka 1-1, Hasama-machi, Yufu City, Oita, 879-5593, Japan

    Nobuhiko Hoaki, Takeshi Terao, Yumei Wang, Shinjiro Goto & Kounosuke Tsuchiyama

  2. Department of Clinical Psychology, Hiroshima International University, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, Japan

    Noboru Iwata

Authors
  1. Nobuhiko Hoaki
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  2. Takeshi Terao
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  3. Yumei Wang
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  4. Shinjiro Goto
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  5. Kounosuke Tsuchiyama
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  6. Noboru Iwata
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takeshi Terao.

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Hoaki, N., Terao, T., Wang, Y. et al. Biological aspect of hyperthymic temperament: light, sleep, and serotonin. Psychopharmacology 213, 633–638 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-1999-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-1999-0

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