How do you make your hamster depressed? Leave the TV on at night.
I didn’t even know that hamsters got depressed, but apparently they do, according to an article by PsychCentral. One of the ways you can tell is that they start drinking less sugar water. “Scientists assume this occurs because they’re not getting as much pleasure from normally enjoyable activities.” If that is true, then the hamsters are experiencing anhedonia, which is one of the diagnostic criteria for depression.
The article was about an experiment in which scientists tested the effects of leaving a light on that was about as bright as a TV (5 lux) at night for some hamsters and turning the lights off for other hamsters. Not only did the TV-hamsters get depressed, but when the scientists cut up their brains, they found they had atrophied.
Does this apply to humans? Let’s check it out with sample size one: I prefer total darkness at night, too. The lights from neighbors’ houses shining into my room irritate me. Unfortunately, irritable mood is not one of the diagnostic criteria for depression unless you are a child or adolescent. Adults have to feel moods like “sad” or “empty” to qualify for a depressed mood in the DSM. Plus, my desire for sugar water increases when I’m depressed.
It looks like we’ll have to wait for some human trials of this experiment. Without the cutting-up-their-brains part.
Nathen's Miraculous Escape 
March 5, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Will any light do it or just the TV light?
March 5, 2011 at 10:46 pm
They didn’t use a TV in the experiment. They just described the brightness of the light as about as bright as a TV in a dark room. I wonder what kind of light they did use, and if it would make a difference.
March 6, 2011 at 12:05 pm
My hamster and I both like our sugar water fermented and distilled to about 80 proof. It can be enjoyed with the light either on or off, and renders the depression very bearable.
March 8, 2011 at 10:27 am
There is a fair amount of research on light and depression. Most of it in the medical literature. Short summary: messing with circadian rhythm correlates with sleep disturbance and depression PMID: 20970716, PMID: 19708722. Blue light seems to cause the most problems PMID: 21164152.
Disturbed sleep seems to be correlated with postpartum depression PMID: 20723998,PMID: 20719289. Some indications that retraining circadian rhythms helps with depression PMID: 20663804.
Studies indicate that using light blocking face-masks can help people in the hospital sleep a bit better but that the noise from the equipment causes sleep disturbances too PMID:17983362. (duh)
March 8, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Thanks Ceri!
For anyone who is interested, you can google the PMID numbers to read the abstracts of the studies Ceri cited. They are PubMed index numbers. For example, here is the abstract from “PMID: 20970716”:
Psychological issues in sleep apnea.
Madani M, Madani FM, Frank M.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Capital Health Regional Medical Center, 750 Brunswick Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08638, USA. drmmadani@gmail.com
Abstract
The overlap of sleep disorders with various psychiatric problems is so great that one would suspect that both types of problems may have common biologic roots. An estimated 65% to 90% of adults with major depression experience some kind of sleep problem. Sleep problems also increase the risk for developing depression. Since the early days of research on disturbed sleep, clinical studies have suggested the existence of a relationship between depression and obstructive sleep apnea.