Why can’t you just inject serotonin to feel happy?
In: 91
Depression is much more complicated than raising levels of serotonin levels in the brain. The idea that depression is just a “chemical imbalance” that can be fixed by altering levels of serotonin or dopamine is a huge oversimplified and largely incorrect. It’s true, a lot of antidepressants modulate serotonin. SSRIs do increase levels of serotonin in the synaptic cleft, but just because they do that doesn’t mean that’s what is treating the depression. When you take an SSRI it raises levels of serotonin in your brain within a few minutes, but it can take several weeks to see improvements in mood. The truth is we don’t know for sure why these medications help with depression, we just know that they do. We think it likely has something to do with being able to modulate transcription of various genes that leads to production of proteins like BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF helps with neuronal plasticity – it essentially helps neurons grow and survive.
Latest Answers