Biological Connotation of Correspondence between Human and Nature rom Neurotransmitters in Patients with Depression in Seasons
Objective:To explore the biological connotation of the theory of correspondence between human and nature in tradition-al Chinese medicine based on seasonal changes in monoamine neurotransmitters.Methods:A total of 65 depression patients(de-pression group)and 40 healthy volunteers(normal group)were included in this study.The levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT),norepinephrine(NE),and dopamine(DA)were compared among four seasons.The meteorological data of the four seasons were col-lected,and the correlations between the secretion levels of the above-mentioned monoamine neurotransmitters and the meteorological factors were evaluated.Results:In the normal group,the overall secretion levels of 5-HT,DA,and NE in four seasons showed the trends of winter<autumn<spring<summer,autumn<winter<summer<spring,and autumn<winter<spring<summer,respec-tively.In the depression group,there was no significant difference in the secretion level of 5-HT between four seasons(P>0.05),and the secretion levels of DA and NE followed the trends of spring<summer<autumn<winter and winter<autumn<spring<summer,respectively.Compared with the normal group,the depression group showed declined levels of 5-HT and NE in four sea-sons,lowered DA level in spring and summer,and elevated DA level in autumn and winter.The levels of monoamine neurotransmit-ters were mainly correlated with the sunshine duration,minimum air pressure,and average maximum temperature in four seasons.Conclusion:The serum levels of neurotransmitters in the normal group and the depression group had different seasonal trends.The influences of meteorological factors in four seasons on the changes of monoamine neurotransmitters associated with human emotion may be a biological basis of the theory of correspondence between human and nature.
Correspondence between nature and humanNeurotransmitterFour seasonsMeteorological factorsDepressionE-motionSunshine durationAir pressureAir temperature