Question: Your job seems so fascinating, I’ve got like a million questions for you haha. If a person lacks a significant amount of serotonin hormones and is therefore suffering from depression, how do anti-depressants help to “restore” a natural balance of serotonin in the body? Are people born with different amounts of the hormone? What factors can contribute to too little or too much of it – and what consequences/health problems can occur in the future because of this. Are drugs always reliable to treat psychological problems; and if not, then what are some other alternatives?

Rachael Ward answered on 15 Jun 2011:

Hi @morgancope

Thank you for saying my jobs seems fascinating, it nice to know I’ve made it sound as good as it is to me!
I’ll try and answer your questions about serotonin.

how do anti-depressants help to “restore” a natural balance of serotonin in the body?
The most common type of anti-depressants (eg Prozac) are called serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor or SSRIs. Neurons release serotonin into a space called the synapse where the serotonin can then activate another nearby neuron. Normally, the serotonin is “reuptaken” by the neuron that released it after a short time. SSRI prevent this from happening, leaving more serotonin in the synapse to activate the other neurons, making up for the fact that the first neuron may have only had a little to release.

Are people born with different amounts of the hormone?
Its better to think of serotonin as a neurotransmitter than a hormone. I think i called it a “happy hormone” as people often say this so sorry if I confused you!
Anyway, we’re not entirely sure if people are born with different amounts of serotonin itself. It is possible that their genes make more or less than normal but I think this is still quite a contraversial subject. It is also possible that some people are born with genes that result in lower amounts of other substances that are required for the normal actions of serotonin.

What factors can contribute to too little or too much of it – and what consequences/health problems can occur in the future because of this?
Some people have shown a link in animals between low levels of serotonin and sudden infant death syndrome but we dont know if this is also the case in humans. The mental health problems linked to serotonin like depression, anxiety could come from a number of things. The reuptake system I mentioned before may be different. And / or some of the regions in the brain which contain serotonin may not have developed exactly right so dont interact with one another in the usual way. To be honest, we’re still researching this. The brain is so complex and theres so much we dont know.

Are drugs always reliable to treat psychological problems; and if not, then what are some other alternatives?
No, unfortunately drugs are not always reliable. Probably because the psychological problems are due to such a complex mix of things – eg slight biological differences in the way someone brain controls serotonin plus stressful or unhappy things in their life could make one person depressed while the other is not too affected.
People are often offered psychotherapy sessions as well as or instead of drugs for pshychological problems. These are with a specially train psychiatrist or counselor and can vary a lot, depending on what the problem is. They often involve talking about the problem and trying to come up with ways of coping with it differently and can be very effective.

I hope this helps answer some of your Qs – sorry I cant answer all of them fully, sometime we still dont know! If youre interested, perhaps you’ll consider being a scientist and help find the answers?