Psychomotor change as a feature of depressive disorders: an historical overview

Psychomotor disturbance has generally been viewed as a feature of all depressive disorders, merely varying in severity as a consequence of the mood state. As we have elsewhere argued for psychomotor change being specific to melancholia, its definition, measurement and capacity to sub-type depressive disorders may benefit from close consideration. Here we overview historical views and contemporary measures of psychomotor change, noting variable interest in behavioural manifestations of depression, as against symptoms, over time.