Why can’t you just inject serotonin to feel happy?
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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.
Notably, you can OD on serotonin, called serotonin syndrome, which can be fatal (which is why docs usually don’t give you two different SSRIs at the same time and instead augment with antidepressants that work in different ways). If you wanted to give serotonin to someone, and it made it past the blood brain barrier, it could easily be too much and be fatal.
SSRIs work to increase serotonin by preventing them from being reabsorbed by neurons after release, which increases the serotonin between neurons, which allows them to communicate with each other better. It doesn’t make you “happy” per se, but it helps to regulate your mood because the neurons that control mood can communicate better.
Also notably, the serotonin-deficient theory of depression (that there is a lack of serotonin and therefore increasing it will fix the depression) is losing favour. SSRIs can work, but that’s like saying that a cut is a band-aid deficient syndrome. I think newer theories of depression are looking more at inflammation and decreased connectivity.
Notably, you can OD on serotonin, called serotonin syndrome, which can be fatal (which is why docs usually don’t give you two different SSRIs at the same time and instead augment with antidepressants that work in different ways). If you wanted to give serotonin to someone, and it made it past the blood brain barrier, it could easily be too much and be fatal.
SSRIs work to increase serotonin by preventing them from being reabsorbed by neurons after release, which increases the serotonin between neurons, which allows them to communicate with each other better. It doesn’t make you “happy” per se, but it helps to regulate your mood because the neurons that control mood can communicate better.
Also notably, the serotonin-deficient theory of depression (that there is a lack of serotonin and therefore increasing it will fix the depression) is losing favour. SSRIs can work, but that’s like saying that a cut is a band-aid deficient syndrome. I think newer theories of depression are looking more at inflammation and decreased connectivity.
Notably, you can OD on serotonin, called serotonin syndrome, which can be fatal (which is why docs usually don’t give you two different SSRIs at the same time and instead augment with antidepressants that work in different ways). If you wanted to give serotonin to someone, and it made it past the blood brain barrier, it could easily be too much and be fatal.
SSRIs work to increase serotonin by preventing them from being reabsorbed by neurons after release, which increases the serotonin between neurons, which allows them to communicate with each other better. It doesn’t make you “happy” per se, but it helps to regulate your mood because the neurons that control mood can communicate better.
Also notably, the serotonin-deficient theory of depression (that there is a lack of serotonin and therefore increasing it will fix the depression) is losing favour. SSRIs can work, but that’s like saying that a cut is a band-aid deficient syndrome. I think newer theories of depression are looking more at inflammation and decreased connectivity.
side question: how would a lab make synthetic serotonin?
side question: how would a lab make synthetic serotonin?
side question: how would a lab make synthetic serotonin?
I will give you an analogy. You need a good graphic card to enjoy some games as they were intended Your typical graphic card in a desktop computer needs a 12VDC circuit from the power supply, along other voltages. 12V can be provided by a car battery. However, boosting your GPU with a car battery won’t help you achieve a higher score in your games.
Serotonin is used to carry messages around your brain and your body. Like a voltage is needed for a wire to transmit data in a computer. When the serotonin isn’t regulated properly, the messages don’t get broadcasted. But adding more serotonin won’t replace the missing messages.
I will give you an analogy. You need a good graphic card to enjoy some games as they were intended Your typical graphic card in a desktop computer needs a 12VDC circuit from the power supply, along other voltages. 12V can be provided by a car battery. However, boosting your GPU with a car battery won’t help you achieve a higher score in your games.
Serotonin is used to carry messages around your brain and your body. Like a voltage is needed for a wire to transmit data in a computer. When the serotonin isn’t regulated properly, the messages don’t get broadcasted. But adding more serotonin won’t replace the missing messages.
I will give you an analogy. You need a good graphic card to enjoy some games as they were intended Your typical graphic card in a desktop computer needs a 12VDC circuit from the power supply, along other voltages. 12V can be provided by a car battery. However, boosting your GPU with a car battery won’t help you achieve a higher score in your games.
Serotonin is used to carry messages around your brain and your body. Like a voltage is needed for a wire to transmit data in a computer. When the serotonin isn’t regulated properly, the messages don’t get broadcasted. But adding more serotonin won’t replace the missing messages.
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