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Posts tagged with serotonin


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SAD, melatonin and serotonin

July 25, 2011 by .

Juliette Massey-Smith wrote in the following query: I was wondering if you could help… I was re-reading about SAD in your AQA textbook and read on p.4 that in winter melatonin and serotonin are higher and this causes depression, but then also that LACK of serotonin causes it… What am I missing?

This error was corrected in the A2 Mini Companion (page 8): More darkness means more melatonin, and more melatonin means less serotonin (because melatonin is produced from serotonin). Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression.

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Depression-serotonin link may be wrong

September 14, 2010 by .

The general view is that low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin are linked with depression. However a number of studies have found, not surprisingly, that the relationship is more complex than that according to a recent review by Geddes in the New Scientist (July 2010). Increased levels of serotonin in some regions of the brain may lead to elevated mood but in other regions there may be negative effects. This may explain why antidepressants that increase serotonin levels (e.g. SSRIs) aren’t always effective. For example, in the short-term people taking SSRIs report feelings of anxiety which may be due to the fact that increasing serotonin levels has negative effects on some serotonin neurons. Boosting serotonin is also associated with increased impulsivity which might explain why SSRIs are linked to suicide.

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