[Heterogeneity of the depressive mood. Construction of a polydimensional scale]. / L'hétérogénéité de l'humeur dépressive. Construction d'une échelle polydimensionnelle.

The evaluation of depressive mood implies several levels of the clinician's inferences: behaviour observation, subjective experience report, affective communication... The authors report the first stages in the construction of a specific depressive mood scale administered to a major depressive disorder population of 52 patients meeting DSM III criteria. The principal component analysis splits mood into three main factors: dysphoria, expressed sadness, emotional blunting. These various emotional dimensions should be taken into account for the analysis of drugs effects.

[The Pleasure-Displeasure Scale. Use in the evaluation of depressive illness]. / L'échelle de plaisir-déplaisir. Utilisation dans l'évaluation de la maladie dépressive.

The Pleasure-displeasure Scale is a self-report instrument consisting of 82 items for measuring the intensity of subjects' affective responses to usually pleasant and unpleasant situations. 81 depressed inpatients were compared to 120 normal subjects. The responses of the depressed patients to the Pleasure sub-scale (French translation of the Fawcett-Clark's Pleasure Scale) are more anhedonic than those of the normal subjects; but the difference did not reach statistical significance. Pleasure scores in the depressive group are bimodally distributed; a distinct subset (11% of depressives) is characterised by an extremely anhedonic Pleasure score. The sensitivity to unpleasant stimuli is significantly greater in the depressive group; however this difference seems to be related rather to a low cultural level than to depression itself. Finally pleasure and displeasure scores are closely correlated: this could possibly imply that anhedonia is not an independent symptom but rather belongs to the wider constellation of affective anesthesia.