Abstract

This review aims to shed light on relationships involving childhood stress, depression. Stress early in life can contribute to the development of depression, and depressed patients are at risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life. Depression commonly precedes the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Stimulation of areas adjacent to the substantia nigra and dopamine (DA) agonists has been shown to reduce depression. Depression may therefore be part of the pathophysiological process leading to PD, rather than a simple mood disorder, as PD causes depletion of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Mesocortical and mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways that mediate mood, emotion, and/or cognitive function may also play important roles in Parkinson's disease-related depression.Here, we propose that drugs designed to treat serotonin deficiency likely affect motor symptoms in depression-related PD.