Serotonin News and Research

Latest Serotonin News and Research

Individuals with social anxiety disorder show large differences in personality traits

Individuals with social anxiety disorder have markedly different personality traits than others. Emotional instability and introversion are hallmarks, according to a new study from Uppsala University published in PLOS ONE.

29 Apr 2020

Breastfeeding helps reduce the risk of maternal postpartum diabetes

A team of South Korean researchers found that lactation can lower the incidence and reduce the risk of maternal postpartum diabetes.

29 Apr 2020

Researchers identify biological mechanism in depressed individuals

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers report that in depressed individuals there are increased amounts of an unmodified structural protein, called tubulin, in lipid rafts -; fatty sections of a cell membrane -; compared with non-depressed individuals.

22 Apr 2020

New computational model shows how psilocybin affects brain activity

Interest in research into the effects of psilocybin, a psychedelic drug, has increased significantly in recent years due to its promising therapeutic effects in neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and addiction.

17 Apr 2020

Researchers discover novel role for dopamine that impacts gene expression related to cocaine abuse

A new role for dopamine independent of classic neurotransmission may be critical gene expression changes related to cocaine use.

9 Apr 2020

Depressive disorders in patients with HIV/AIDS often go unrecognized or untreated

People living with HIV/AIDS are at increased risk of depressive disorders. But all too often, these conditions go unrecognized or untreated, suggests a literature review in the May/June issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

7 Apr 2020

Study reveals how serotonin balances communication within the brain

Our brain is steadily engaged in soliloquies. These internal communications are usually also bombarded with external sensory events.

7 Apr 2020

Zebrafish can provide genetic clues to human nicotine addiction

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have shown that zebrafish can provide genetic clues to smoking, a complex human behavior.

30 Mar 2020

Research team identifies a molecule that directs neurons

The habenula is a small region at the centre of the brain, but is crucial for people's lives. It is made up of groups of nerve cells that control the "neurotransmitters" of the brain, that is to say substances like dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin.

24 Mar 2020

New drug can alleviate the side effects of tricyclic antidepressants

About one in five Danes are affected by depression at some point in their lives. The severe depressions may be treated with the so-called 'tricyclic antidepressants', an antidepressant drug that is more effective than the drugs used for mild and moderate depressions.

22 Mar 2020

Scientists map novel structure of so-called 'neurotransmitter: sodium symporter’

A novel structure of a so-called 'neurotransmitter: sodium symporter’ has been mapped at the University of Copenhagen.

6 Mar 2020

Researchers uncover novel neurotransmitter system in the brain

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit signals between neurons or from neurons to other cells. They interact with specific receptors found in the brain of humans and animals, controlling a variety of biological processes, e.g. fear, anger, pleasure, memory, energy, appetite and sleep.

5 Mar 2020

Antidepressant shows promise in helping men with recurrent prostate cancer

An antidepressant in use for decades, repurposed to fight prostate cancer, shows promise in helping patients whose disease has returned following surgery or radiation, a pilot study at USC shows.

4 Mar 2020

Experimental drug offers hope for improving movement symptoms of Parkinson's

Results from a study looking at an experimental drug to tackle the debilitating side effect of dyskinesia, have offered hope that it may have potential as a future treatment for people with Parkinson's.

2 Mar 2020

Using 'mini-brains' to detect harmful neurodevelopmental effects of antidepressant

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have demonstrated the use of stem-cell-derived "mini-brains" to detect harmful side effects of a common drug on the developing brain.

21 Feb 2020

Using a simple model to study how serotonin modulates behavior

In popular experience the story of how serotonin modulates the brain might seem simple: pop an antidepressant, serotonin levels go up, mood improves. But neuroscientists acknowledge how little they know about how the neurotransmitter affects circuits and behavior in the incredibly complex human brain.

20 Feb 2020

Increase in out-of-pocket costs associated with lower adherence to neurologic medications

As out-of-pocket costs go up for drugs for the neurologic disorders Alzheimer's disease, peripheral neuropathy and Parkinson's disease, people are less likely to take the drugs as often as their doctors prescribed, according to a study funded by the American Academy of Neurology and published in the February 19, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Feb 2020

BPA-free plastic products aren't safe for people to use, scientists warn

Using "BPA-free" plastic products could be as harmful to human health -- including a developing brain -- as those products that contain the controversial chemical, suggest scientists in a new study led by the University of Missouri and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

19 Feb 2020

Scientists use toxin from rattlesnake venom for chronic pain

Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) is the largest venomous snake in North America, reaching 8 feet and weighing up to 10 pounds. In the past, medical experts believe that the toxin in rattlesnake venom, crotoxin, is a promising compound for the treatment of chronic pain.

18 Feb 2020

Depression treatment using AI, brain scans

Artificial intelligence (AI) may be a useful and even essential tool in selecting the best treatment for depression, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology on February 2020.

10 Feb 2020