I agree completely Miguel. TIPS is one place I know I can go to get some great information/feedback. There are some folks here on the list with some seriously strong backgrounds in many areas and since no single person these days can keep up with all areas of psychology, it's nice to know that TIPS and its great community is here to help.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to my serotonin question. Michael Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. [email protected] http://www.ThePsychFiles.com Twitter: mbritt On Nov 26, 2012, at 12:54 PM, MiguelRoig wrote: > > > > > > > Because I don't believe that I had ever thought about the question that > Michael Britt posed, I really appreciated the question itself and most > certainly the thoughtful responses by David and Mike. I probably can say the > same thing just about every week but being that Thanksgiving has just passed > ... well ... yeah ... thank you, TIPS. > > Miguel > > From: "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> > To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" > <[email protected]> > Cc: "Michael Palij" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 11:34:06 AM > Subject: Re: [tips] Questions about Serotonin and Depression > > To add to what David says below, the journal "Philosophical Transactions > of the Royal Society-B (Biological Sciences) recently had a special issue on > the "serotonin hypothesis" (NOTE: it is important to note that it is a > hypothesis > and not just a description) which can be accessed here: > http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/367/1601.toc > > There is an introductory article that provides a brief overview of the > research: > > Paul R. Albert, Chawki Benkelfat, and Laurent Descarries (September 5, > 2012 ) > Introduction: The neurobiology of depression-revisiting the serotonin > hypothesis. I. > Cellular and molecular mechanisms Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 367, 1601 > 2378-2381; doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0190 1471-2970 > > |Abstract > |The serotonin (5-HT) hypothesis of depression dates from the 1960s. It > |originally postulated that a deficit in brain serotonin, corrected by > antidepressant > |drugs, was the origin of the illness. Nowadays, it is generally accepted > that > |recurring mood disorders are brain diseases resulting from the combination, > |to various degrees, of genetic and other biological as well as > environmental > |factors, evolving through the lifespan. All areas of neuroscience, from > genes > |to behaviour, molecules to mind, and experimental to clinical, are actively > |engaged in attempts at elucidating the pathophysiology of depression and > |the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of antidepressant treatments. This > |first of two special issues of Philosophical Transactions B seeks to > provide > |an overview of current developments in the field, with an emphasis on > cellular > |and molecular mechanisms, and how their unravelling opens new perspectives > |for future research. > > There are 10 other articles in this issue that are relevant. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > P.S. It would be a mistake to claim that it is a "lack" of serotonin that > is the > problem in depression because the drug tianeptine is a "Selective Serotonin > Reuptake ENHANCER" (SSRE), that is, it increases the amount of serotonin. > For one source, see the Wikipedia entry but a PubMed search may be > warranted: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianeptine > I think it is fairer to say that depression is a dysreguation of the normal > levels of > various neurotransmitters and other neurochemicals. > > On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:45:12 -0800 , David Epstein wrote: > >On Mon, 26 Nov 2012, Michael Britt went: > >>I recently received a couple questions about the effect of SSRIs on > >>depression and I'm not quite sure of the answer. Would anyone care > >>to edify us on these questions? > >> > >>Do people with depression produce enough serotonin, but it just > >>isn?t getting absorbed? In other words, it gets released and then > >>just hangs out in the synapse area? Or do they not produce enough > >>serotonin to begin with and what doesn?t get absorbed creates a > >>"deficiency"? > >> > >>As I understand it, SSRIs prevent serotonin from going back into the > >>originating neuron and MAOs destroy the serotonin left in the > >>synapse and that medication stops this destruction from > >>happening. Both of these are designed to keep the serotonin levels > >>high. Why not just increase the amount of serotonin in the body say > >>with 5-HTP supplement? Would more serotonin in the synapse allow > >>more to be absorbed? > > > >My shortest, easiest answer--forgive me for doing it without giving > >cites--is that you can't think in global terms about there being "too > >much serotonin" or "too little serotonin." Serotonin is released > >along distinct pathways within the brain onto specific target regions, > >and it does different things in different regions. > > > >This is partly explained by (and partly just complicated by) the fact > >that there are at least 14 different subtypes of receptor for > >serotonin. The receptors aren't like the serotonin transporter that > >SSRIs block. They don't "absorb" serotonin; they're activated by it, > >the way a key on your computer keyboard is activated by your finger > >(without absorbing your finger!). > > > >What's more, the different types of receptor can change in number or > >sensitivity over the course of minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months. > >(The words to look up here and upregulation, downregulation, > >sensitization, and desensitization.) Those changes, which happen in > >slow and complicated ways in response to SSRIs and other > >antidepressants, are probably part of what makes the antidepressants > >work. > > > >OK? > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=466839.0421d1005414eed82340aa280e7ce629&n=T&l=tips&o=21900 > or send a blank email to > leave-21900-466839.0421d1005414eed82340aa280e7ce...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958f69&n=T&l=tips&o=21902 > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > or send a blank email to > leave-21902-13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=21905 or send a blank email to leave-21905-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
