What are the psychological effects of serotonin?

A summary of what is known so far about the influence of serotonin on the human mind.

The state of population mental health is a global problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 300 million people in the world suffer from depression, while 260 million patients show some form of anxiety.

One in 4 people will suffer from a mental disorder in their lifetime and, unfortunately, most patients in low-income countries will not have access to adequate treatment.

With these figures in hand, the need for research in the psychiatric and psychological field to treat emotional problems, but also in the biological field to understand the biochemical bases that promote (or provoke) them, is evident. (or provoke) them. Although it may be difficult for us to recognize it as thinking beings, there is no doubt that humans are our chemistry and, therefore, we are at the mercy of the metabolic pathways of our organism and the genetic load that defines us as individuals.

Based on this premise, here we will we will focus here on dissecting the nature of serotonina neurotransmitter that is synthesized from tryptophan in animals and plants, intervening in a myriad of physiological and psychological processes.

Serotonin and the human organism

Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a neurotransmitter found in the human body. a neurotransmitter found mainly in the intestinal tract and Blood platelets (90% of the total), while the remaining 10% is found in the intestinal tract and blood platelets (90% of the total).while the remaining 10% is synthesized in brain neurons. This neurotransmitter is of essential importance in human behavior, as it is involved in processes such as day-to-day behaviors, emotions and memory.

We will explore what this chemical does at the emotional level in patients in the following lines, but first we see of interest to expose some organs/pathological processes that are affected by it.

1. Coagulation

Serotonin promotes clotting when there is a wound, as platelets travel to the lesion and release it into the lesion.. Being a neurotransmitter associated with nerve activation in general, serotonin promotes the release into the bloodstream of these types of cells to prevent problems caused by injuries when experimenting with the environment.

2. Vasoconstriction

The vasoconstriction produced by this neurotransmitter prevents the patient from bleeding.

Generally, this reduction in the perimeter of the blood vessels occurs in those closest to the skin, as they are the ones most exposed to the risk of being injured by external elements; this is an adaptation to survive in hostile environments.

2. Cardiac arrhythmias

5-HT increases the entry of calcium into myocytes, which in excess results in accelerated contractions of the heart. results in accelerated contractions of the heart.. Tremors, nervousness and restlessness are other symptoms of serotonin excess, although other causes are involved, such as our reaction to the first symptoms.

3. Epilepsy

An excess of serotonin in the neuronal area is associated with convulsions and thus to epileptic diseases. However, this does not mean that serotonin itself is bad; it is a quantitative problem, because as we have seen, in the vast majority of cases this neurotransmitter is not only a normal and natural element in our body, but it is also beneficial for us.

4. Metabolic and endocrine processes

A prolonged high concentration of circulating serotonin reduces bone mineral density, but in general this type of biological mechanism rarely leads to bone fragility problems.

The psychological effects of serotonin

With all these data, you can see that serotonin has multiple functions in the body, some good in the short term and others that can become negative if they remain over time. A deficit of serotonin is associated with apathetic, sad and discouraged people, while an excess is linked to nervousness, sweating, tremors, anxiety and other events. How much of this is true?

The scientific article Understanding the role of serotonin in psychiatric diseasespublished in the medical journal F1000 Research, helps us to understand the effects of serotonin at the individual psychological level in a reliable way. Before claiming that "serotonin is the happiness compound", we must ground our knowledge with data.

First of all, it is necessary to emphasize that there is clear scientific evidence capable of linking serotoninergic dysfunctions in various psychiatric pathologies. Some of them are the following: depression, anxiety disorders, eating problems, schizophrenia, autism and aggressive behaviors, among others. Let us explore some of these causalities.

1. Serotonin and depression

Low levels of circulating serotonin have historically been associated with depression, but it is not entirely clear which comes first.Is depression caused by a lack of serotonin, or does the lack of serotonin occur because of the continued depressed state?

Beyond this debate, the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) has things to say regarding this correlation. In the review article What has serotonin to do with depression?this professional organization questions the historical (and poorly substantiated) absolute and unequivocal link between depression and serotonin. Healthy people who are deprived of tryptophan in their diet (the precursor of serotonin) do not show depressive tendencies.so the causality falls of its own weight.

Yes, there are cases in which a lack of serotonin or its functioning can promote depression in patients with certain specific traits, but this reality is neither necessary nor obligatory. To some extent, in the psychiatric field, to say that a lack of serotonin causes depression is considered untruthful.

Serotonin and anxiety

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are drugs used for the treatment of chronic anxiety.so it is clear that this neurotransmitter plays some role in its occurrence.

However, we find a similar obstacle to the previous case: some studies with animal models give serotonin anxiolytic properties, while other arguments place it as an anxiolytic. This is not necessarily a bad thing, nor does it reflect lies, as it only highlights the complexity of the neurotransmitter at hand.

Studies such as The serotonergic system and anxiety explore the clear roles of serotonin and its concentrations on the development of serotonergic circuits and anxiety responses in animal models, but there is still a long way to go.

3. Serotonin and schizophrenia

The hypotheses linking serotonin to schizophrenia point to its trophic role during development and the interactions that this neurotransmitter has with the dopaminergic system. For example, as indicated in the medical review The Neurobiological Basis of Schizophrenia, an increase in central serotonergic tone has been suggested in recent years in patients with schizophrenia..

It is postulated that these patients have a dopaminergic hypofunction in the prefrontal cortex due, in part, to the inhibitory action of excess serotonin at that particular level. For this reason, serotonin inhibitor drugs would improve symptoms in these clinical patients.

Serotonin and its complexity are not easy to study

With all these lines we have seen that, in the world of science, not everything is what it seems. Serotonin is known as the "neurotransmitter of happiness", because its excessive release following the consumption of certain drugs or the experience of extremely pleasurable events is associated with momentary joy and euphoria.. This correlation is quite clear, but exploring the long-term effects of this neurotransmitter in patients with psychological disorders is a completely different matter.

Even the most established basis of all (less serotonin results in depression) is nowadays questioned by professional bodies, as this causality does not always hold true.

On the other hand, there is no reason to be alarmed by the idea that serotonin is involved in the development of psychological and psychiatric disorders. Considering that this substance is one of the main neurotransmitters in the brain and that it is present throughout our Central Nervous System, it would be rare for it to remain totally unaffected by the emergence of these phenomena. The fact that it participates more or less directly in psychopathologies does not imply that the presence of serotonin in our body is a problem..

Therefore, it is recommended that you keep a critical thinking and always look for professional sources when informing yourself about the effects that different hormones and compounds have on your body. Not everything is as clear as it seems and, in many cases, miraculous properties are attributed to certain chemicals for profit. In the human organism, complexity and multifunctionality take precedence over any irrefutable formula.