The historical contributions of Kurt Schneider, Karl Leonhard, Hans-Jörg Weitbrecht and Hubertus Tellenbach provide different concepts for a psychopathological differentiation of depressive syndromes. The current diagnostic systems ICD-10 and DSM-5 also contain categories for a differentiated classification of depressive disorders that trace back to the above historical concepts. The extensive diagnostic concepts of "depressive episode" or "major depression", however, are mainly based on the severity of symptomatology in terms of the number of symptoms and on their temporal duration. This approach could result in a lack of psychopathological differentiation and the limitation to a more syndromal and dimensional view of depression. In contrast, a differentiated typology of depressive phenomenology based on traditional psychopathological concepts could be useful both for clinical treatment decisions and for neurobiological research.
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