Saturday, October 31, 2009

Depression. Serotonin or norepinedephrine?

I have been researching on this topic for some time and still cannot get a solid answer to this question. Some websites and books say that its due to only Serotonin while others mentioned that its the combination.
I seriously want to know what is the true cause of depression. I know that it is due to the imbalance of neurotransmitter in the brain but which transmitters is it?
Also, there are many drugs available to treat such a symptom. However, it is also known that SSRI and NASSA. One of them is an inhibitor of Serotonin while the other increases the Serotonin in the body. So, how are they related?
Anyone who has an extensive understanding of this topic is welcomed to give an answer. Thanks.
Answer:
I do have a little understanding of this subject so i will try to shed some light:
Depression has been linked to serotonin due to dense amounts of serotonergic nerve cells which are found in areas of the brain that have to deal with mood (such as amygdala, medulla, pons, basically most of the midbrain). Serotonin also plays a influential role with other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and GABA (but thats another story).
As for norepinephrine, this is a neurotransmitter that is linked to euphoria, focus, among other activities, but increase in this chemical would give someone a boost of euphoria (much like when drinking a cup of coffee or taking an amphetamine). So drugs which increase levels of this chemical in the body may aid in treating depression because of those aforementioned attributes.
This is a very difficult question to answer in only a few words so i would direct you to read up on serotonergic and adenergic receptors/cells, as well as review neuroanatomy and how the placement of these cells with high density of these types of receptors might play a role in depression (midbrain).
but no one knows (even at the molecular level) exactly what causes depression, if we knew that we could design a drug that specifically targets a place in the brain that regulates our depression/mood. Most likely their is not one spot, nor is their just one type of depression. Something else you might want to look into are cortisol levels and its affects on depression, i was taught in a psychology class during my undergrad years that this chemical has been correlated to depression.
There is not ONE TRUE SINGLE cause of depression.
isn't the inhibitor of Serotonin actually an SSRI - Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor? by inhibiting re-uptake, it leaves more Serotonin in the brai to be used.
Some people need the SSRI, others need the other neurotransmitter..
Some need both.
Neurotransmitters play a part, but other factors also affect depression. The way people think about themselves and their lives play a big role in depression for some people. Thinking things like I'm not good enough, I'm stupid, no one likes me, etc. can contribute to or even cause depression. Retraining yourself to think positively can drastically reduce/eliminate depression for some people.
I've taken an SSRI and I've done the retraining thing at different points in my life. Both have worked well for me.
The SSRI keeps the serotonin from being absorbed back into the neurons so that more remains in the synapses.

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