Serotonin News and Research

Latest Serotonin News and Research

Blood pressure drug could be beneficial in treating alcohol use disorders

A drug used to treat high blood pressure may alleviate anxiety induced by long-term heavy alcohol use, and also halt the damage such drinking can cause to the brain's ability to grow new cells, research at the Queensland University of Technology shows.

11 Dec 2019

Mice study shows the impact of taking antidepressants during pregnancy

Exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy and the first weeks of life can alter sensory processing well into adulthood, according to research in mice recently published in eNeuro.

From Society for Neuroscience 11 Dec 2019

UC study explores side effects in pediatric patients treated with antidepressants

Sometimes, the medications needed to function and live a quality life cause side effects that can make life quite uncomfortable.

10 Dec 2019

Drug used to treat Parkinson’s shows potential as a dementia treatment

Drug used to treat hallucinations and delusions in Parkinson's shows promise as treatment for dementia-related psychosis (DRP).

5 Dec 2019

New computational method can help predict and design allosteric functions in proteins

Called the "second secret of life", allostery is one of the most fundamental processes of biology and has been a central focus among scientists across the life sciences spectrum, from fundamental biology to drug development.

3 Dec 2019

New findings could help clinicians to improve care for pregnant women and new mums with depression

Professor Sue Jordan from the University's College of Human and Health Science, who led the study, says the findings could be used to help clinicians improve care for women during pregnancy and after they have given birth.

20 Nov 2019

New technique enables the study of transporter proteins at a single-molecule level

Like a boat helping passengers cross a river, transporters move substances across cell membranes. This process is fundamental to the healthy functioning of cells in life forms from bacteria to humans.

14 Nov 2019

Depression in middle and older adulthood associated with nutrition

Your diet can put you at risk of depression, according to a new study. The study also found that the likelihood of depression is higher among middle-aged and older women who were immigrants to Canada when compared to Canadian-born women.

12 Nov 2019

Study supports physical activity as a preventive measure for depression

A new study has found that physical activity may have a preventative effect against depression. Physical activity has long been linked with better mental health due to its ability to reduce the stress hormone cortisol and increase the feel-good hormone serotonin. However, there has been limited empirical evidence to support physical activity as a preventive measure for depression, making these findings very important.

5 Nov 2019

Brain function changes could help diagnose and manage depression

Ever heard of the lateral habenula? Very few, outside of neuroscience, probably have. Yet a new study, published in the journal Neuron, shows that characteristic changes in the way this area of the brain fires can result in a total loss of will to do anything – which is characteristic of one form of depression.

29 Oct 2019

Study shows significant decrease in use of antidepressants by pregnant women

A pregnancy is not always a happy event and as many as 10-15 per cent of pregnant women in Denmark have depressive symptoms. Despite years of critical focus on the side effects of antidepressants in the healthcare system, consumption of antidepressants by pregnant women actually increased drastically during the period 1997 to 2011.

29 Oct 2019

Discovery of causal link between hydrogen sulfide and schizophrenia

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have found certain chemical markers that are associated with schizophrenia. They worked with lab mice with models of schizophrenia as well as post mortem brain specimens of persons with schizophrenia. The study titled, “Excess hydrogen sulfide and polysulfides production underlies a schizophrenia pathophysiology,” was published in the latest issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

28 Oct 2019

MPST enzyme levels in hair could be a good biomarker for schizophrenia

Working with model mice, post-mortem human brains, and people with schizophrenia, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered that a subtype of schizophrenia is related to abnormally high levels hydrogen sulfide in the brain.

28 Oct 2019

Detecting neurotransmitters at the lowest concentrations

Dopamine, serotonin, adrenalin... The smooth functioning of the human brain depends on their correct proportions. Any disturbances mean diseases.

24 Oct 2019

Half the drugs in use damage gut bacteria, says new study

A startling presentation at UEG Week 2019, in Barcelona, reveals that the gut microbiome is at high risk for damage each time we use a drug from one or more of 18 commonly used groups. The effects may range from changes in the relative proportions of different beneficial and potentially harmful species to alterations in the cellular metabolism of the bacteria themselves.

23 Oct 2019