5 Myths About Serotonin | Psychology Right this moment Canada

Nearly each article on the biology of happiness talks concerning the neurotransmitter serotonin and why it’s so vital to our temper. Whereas the serotonin system is actually a key participant in our temper, there are 5 vital and common misconceptions about the way it works which might be price understanding.

Fantasy #1: Serotonin is barely discovered within the mind

Serotonin positively performs a key function in our mind operate. However, solely a tiny fraction of all of the serotonin in our our bodies is definitely in our brains. In truth, about 90 p.c of your serotonin is made in your intestine, the place it helps regulate motility and contractions. One other 8 p.c is situated on platelets in your bloodstream, the place it aids in clotting. Meaning solely about 1-2 p.c of your physique’s serotonin shops are in your mind.

Fantasy #2: Serotonin explains despair

Round 60 years in the past, it was first proposed that low mind serotonin might result in despair. This idea got here to be often known as the “serotonin speculation,” and it’s remained the dominant rationalization for despair to today. Most of the mostly prescribed antidepressants (referred to as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or “SSRIs”) are thought to work partially by growing serotonin within the mind. However scientific analysis in the previous couple of many years has revealed that there’s a complete lot extra to the story of despair.

A number of issues with the serotonin speculation of despair have been explored over time. One notable situation: SSRIs ought to enhance serotonin within the mind in a short time, however in many individuals, it may well take weeks to see an impact. Moreover, about 1/3 of depressed sufferers by no means see a major response when handled with medication designed to lift serotonin, and, extra broadly, solely about 1/3 of depressed sufferers obtain full remission, even with these drugs on board.

Importantly, this doesn’t imply that serotonin isn’t concerned in despair, nor that serotonin-based pharmaceutical remedy for despair doesn’t work. As a substitute, it signifies there’s in all probability extra to the story. That’s why researchers have explored the function of stress, irritation, neuroplasticity, and different mind pathways as contributing to despair (and in addition as targets for remedy).

Fantasy #3: Mind serotonin solely influences our temper

Remembering that almost all of our serotonin is present in our intestine and our bloodstream, the place it performs a wide range of roles, it could be no shock that the serotonin in our mind does much more than simply affect our temper. As one instance, mind serotonin might be additional metabolized into melatonin, a key sleep hormone. Further work reveals that mind serotonin is concerned in urge for food, reward processes, reminiscence, and studying.

Fantasy #4: Extra serotonin is at all times higher

Since many individuals know serotonin because the “glad molecule,” it stands to motive that we’d need as a lot of it as doable in our brains. But, like most issues about our physiology, tip the scales too far and catastrophe ensues. Within the context of taking sure drugs that elevate mind serotonin, it’s doable to develop “serotonin syndrome,” a doubtlessly life-threatening situation that’s regarded as attributable to an excessive amount of serotonin within the physique and mind. Signs of this situation can vary from tremors to delirium.

Serotonin syndrome is a comparatively uncommon situation and is nearly at all times attributable to interactions between a number of drugs that enhance serotonin ranges (versus occurring in folks taking a single antidepressant). But it speaks to the fragile nature of our mind’s serotonin methods, and the must be cautious in how we method methods to affect this vital molecule. To this finish, some early knowledge means that methods linked to wholesome mind serotonin operate (and by the way, higher temper) embrace common train and getting a every day dose of vivid mild.

Fantasy #5: You may get your serotonin from meals

Often, an article or information headline will pop up that describes the mood-boosting results of serotonin-rich meals. For instance, bananas have serotonin in them, so you’d suppose that for those who eat some bananas, you’d profit from their serotonin. Nonetheless, this incorrect pondering speaks to a different key facet of serotonin: it may well’t cross from the bloodstream into the mind.

Keep in mind the 90 p.c of your physique’s serotonin that’s primarily based within the intestine? Or the 8 p.c within the bloodstream? It seems that these serotonin molecules are locked out of the mind. That’s as a result of our mind’s protecting barrier (referred to as the blood-brain barrier) is impenetrable to serotonin. It is a good factor, given what we beforehand mentioned about how our brains reply to huge adjustments in serotonin ranges. But when serotonin in the remainder of our physique can’t get into the mind, how does our mind get sufficient of this neurotransmitter?

Inside our brains, in addition to elsewhere in our our bodies, our cells act on an important amino acid referred to as tryptophan. Certainly one of these pathways of motion converts tryptophan into serotonin. In contrast to serotonin, tryptophan can cross the blood-brain barrier. This implies among the tryptophan we take in once we eat protein turns into serotonin within the mind.

Even nonetheless, quite a lot of components make it unlikely that easy tweaks to eating regimen are majorly modifying mind tryptophan ranges. One motive for that is that tryptophan has to compete with different amino acids to get into the mind. Moreover, the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin within the mind is considerably influenced by the state of our brains, together with ranges of irritation. So, whereas a every day balanced eating regimen could assist guarantee your mind will get enough tryptophan, the mind’s capability to make use of it successfully could be the extra vital variable.

Placing it collectively

Relating to the mind chemistry of temper, the serotonin system is a key participant. However, it’s actually not the one participant, and the best way it really works is much more nuanced than merely “increased serotonin = higher temper.” Whereas it’s tempting to attempt to affect our mind serotonin ranges to enhance our temper, analysis exhibiting that we will simply and successfully affect these ranges stays fairly restricted. Within the bigger dialog about how we will promote higher psychological well being, it could be extra useful to think about extra mind methods concerned in temper (e.g., irritation, neuroplasticity, stress pathways) that may be extra readily modified by way of life decisions like train, eating regimen, stress mitigation, and sleep.