Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
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Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
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Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#2Is the zero bit the computer happy bit?
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#3Is the zero bit the computer happy bit?
I don't know, but I found this to be the interesting bit:
> Depressed and anxious people might simply be too good at learning about bad outcomes
> Over the past few decades, researchers have been discussing that mental health issues such as depression and anxiety might fundamentally be disorders of learning, rather than outcomes of a ‘chemical imbalance’ that requires correction by a serotonin boost. Specifically, certain individuals which have atypical function of the serotonin system (which might be caused by genetic factors or stressful lives) may be at risk of developing depression or anxiety because they are too good at learning about negative outcomes, and thus are more likely to feel that the world is a bad place if they experience negative life events. One of the most talked-about studies in the psychiatric literature supports this possibility (6). It found that individuals with a particular genotype affecting the serotonin system were more likely than others to develop depression or anxiety only if they had experienced stressful life events, such as child abuse, unemployment, or loss of a loved one. Clearly, having an atypical serotonin system alone wasn’t enough – it had to be combined with negative experiences.
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#4Is the zero bit the computer happy bit?
I don't know, but I found this to be the interesting bit: > Depressed and anxious people might simply be too good at learning about bad outcomes > Over the past few decades, researchers have been discussing that mental health issues such as depression and anxiety might fundamentally be disorders of learning, rather than outcomes of a ‘chemical imbalance’ that requires correction by a serotonin boost. Specifically, ce…
Add paranoid, which mindset is mostly interpreting everything as a source of bad (worst) outcome.
It also drives thinking into designing "pure solutions" in which the bad just cannot happen. I applied it unconsciously in software design (recently learned it was a design philosophy too).
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#5I would like to point out that there is a whole range of non-SSRI medicines that have significant clinical effects on depression. In particular:
Medicines that promote drowsiness (such as sleeping aids and even the antipsychotic quetiapine), as sleep deprivation and depression are highly correlated.
The atypical antidepressant wellbutrin/bupropion, which impacts a whole bunch of chemicals in the body but notably does not affect seratonin levels. My personal experience from having taken it is that it makes me more energetic, similar to a weak amphetamine.
MAOIs, which again impact a whole bunch of chemicals, including seratonin but notably also melatonin, which is well-known to promote sleep. These are well-known to be highly effective antidepressants, but are rarely used because they require the patient to alter aspects of his lifestyle.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the category of depression consists of a bunch of different symptoms that may be comorbid in many people, but are not necessarily.
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#6The article presents a possible explaination for why SSRI antidepressants (which increase the amount of serotonine in one's synapsis) are effective: serotonine plays a role in how we learn, and
> [people with an] atypical function of the serotonin system may be at risk of developing depression or anxiety because they are too good at learning about negative outcomes
> Serotonin changes produced by the drug, combined with appropriate therapy, might work by allowing patients to learn that the world is not such a bad place rather than simply making them happy.
The article continues noting that this would explain a few things, like
> (1) why treatment with SSRI anti-depressants doesn’t tend to increase happiness until weeks after depressed patients have begun taking medication. Serotonin changes produced by the drug, combined with appropriate therapy, might work by allowing patients to learn that the world is not such a bad place rather than simply making them happy.
> (2) why some depressed patients generally do not improve when undergoing SSRI treatment. Consuming pills in the absence of improvement in life conditions or appropriate therapy might in fact make it easier for already depressed individuals to ‘learn’ more about the negative events surrounding them
> (3) [why we] have no evidence that [simply] increasing brain serotonin levels actually improves people’s mood.
The evidence shown to supports this role of serotonin in the learning process consists of two studies (cited in the article). The first showing that rats grown in the dark developed abnormal sensitivity to non-visual stimuli, and that serotinine played a role in the process. The second found that individuals with a particular genotype affecting the serotonin system were more likely than others to develop depression or anxiety only if they had experienced stressful life events.
Betteridge's law of headlines checks out: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical? No, it (probably) plays a complex role in how we learn about bad outcomes.
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#7I would like to point out that there is a whole range of non-SSRI medicines that have significant clinical effects on depression. In particular: Medicines that promote drowsiness (such as sleeping aids and even the antipsychotic quetiapine), as sleep deprivation and depression are highly correlated. The atypical antidepressant wellbutrin/bupropion, which impacts a whole bunch of chemicals in the body but notably does…
Also, while I don't personally have experience with a lot of illegal drugs, if you ask anyone who does he will tell you that there are drugs that nearly instantly make you happy without having to wait weeks for the drugs to have a subtle effect on your thought processes.
These illegal drugs may or may not be too dangerous to use regularly to treat depression, but it's worth noting the fact that it's clearly not "impossible" to make a true "happy pill"
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#8Serotonine is very old. There are two different genes TPH1 and TPH2 which encode the enzyme information for serotonine-production, which happens at two sites in the body. This split is apparently very old and evolved before vertebrates did.
Serotonine controls a multitude of things including wake-night-cycle, blood pressure and temperature. It doesn't even only work as a neurotransmitter, but mechanically as well.
Further reading: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8768313
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#9I would like to point out that there is a whole range of non-SSRI medicines that have significant clinical effects on depression. In particular: Medicines that promote drowsiness (such as sleeping aids and even the antipsychotic quetiapine), as sleep deprivation and depression are highly correlated. The atypical antidepressant wellbutrin/bupropion, which impacts a whole bunch of chemicals in the body but notably does…
Did you categorize your depression into existential, situational or biochemical origin ? Would that have make sense in your case and could anti-depressants target a specific kind ?
Re: Is serotonin the happy brain chemical?
#10I would like to point out that there is a whole range of non-SSRI medicines that have significant clinical effects on depression. In particular: Medicines that promote drowsiness (such as sleeping aids and even the antipsychotic quetiapine), as sleep deprivation and depression are highly correlated. The atypical antidepressant wellbutrin/bupropion, which impacts a whole bunch of chemicals in the body but notably does…
Also, while I don't personally have experience with a lot of illegal drugs, if you ask anyone who does he will tell you that there are drugs that nearly instantly make you happy without having to wait weeks for the drugs to have a subtle effect on your thought processes. These illegal drugs may or may not be too dangerous to use regularly to treat depression, but it's worth noting the fact that it's clearly not "impo…
But don't those happy pills have really high dependence and don't you need to increase the dosage and the intervals to stay on the same plateau ?