Tea at Trianon: Family History of Depression

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Family History of Depression

From PsyPost:

A new neuroimaging study provides evidence that the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition are altered among those with a familial history of major depressive disorder. The findings have been published in the journal Depression & Anxiety.

“I am interested in the study of theory of mind, that is the ability to infer the hidden mental states, such as feelings, preferences or goals of other people, and was curious about whether people suffering from depression have a change in their theory of mind cognition, which has mixed results in the research thus far,” said study author Lindsey Tepfer, a PhD student at Dartmouth College.

“Some studies have found evidence for altered theory of mind among individuals with depression, while others have not. Moreover, given the high heritability of depression, I wanted to explore whether people with a family history of depression might show symptoms of altered theory of mind as well, perhaps serving as an early sign that they will ultimately experience a depressive episode.” (Read more.)