Serotonin PAK Details

Serotonin is another inhibitory neurotransmitter, but its effects are quite different from those of the enkephalins and endorphins. Neurons that produce serotonin originate in a region of the brain associated with the emotions, and serotonin is generally viewed as an emotional relaxant. Among other things, serotonin acts to moderate the effects of the excitatory neurotransmitters, preventing us from becoming over-stimulated and irritable. Normal serotonin levels prevent us from emotional over-reactions to difficult and frustrating situations. The inability to produce serotonin in adequate amounts can result in emotional burnout from frequent emotional outbursts and is among the primary causes of depression.

Among the psychotropic substances that disrupt the production, release, and reuptake of serotonin is a class of prescription antidepressant drugs called Serotonin Selective Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs, including Prozac (generic name fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetene), and Zoloft (sertraline). These disruptions inhibit the normal serotonin recycling process, causing serotonin molecules to remain in receptors for an abnormally long time. This keeps the receiving neurons artificially stimulated, temporarily increasing the amount of serotonin in our brains.

In fact, SSRIs actually make serotonin deficiencies worse. The brain has many built-in mechanisms that enable it to regulate the production of neurotransmitters and maintain a state of mental and emotional balance. The effect of SSRIs in keeping receiving neurons constantly occupied by serotonin is to make it appear to brain cells that excess amounts of serotonin are being produced. In response to this artificial and unnatural stimulation, our brains eventually reduce their production of this neurotransmitter, making the problem of low serotonin levels even worse.

When SSRI use is stopped, symptoms of serotonin deficiency – including irritability, rage, compulsive behavior, and anxiety – return. Because the ability to produce serotonin has been further disabled by the SSRI drug, these symptoms are often worse than they were originally. In addition, within a very short time (in many cases as little as four or five weeks) after treatment with an SSRI has begun, the effectiveness of SSRIs often wears off. This, too, results in the return of symptoms, in response to which physicians often increase SSRI dosages. SSRIs are potentially addictive, and SSRI dependence can develop over time. One of the primary causes of the symptoms addressed by SSRIs – the inability of the brain to manufacture serotonin in adequate amounts – is actually made much worse by these drugs, because they alter normal serotonin production in our brains.

Drugs such as SSRIs are not the only substances implicated in the disruption of the serotonin cycle, however. Eating foods that are high in refined sugar – candy and cookies, for instance – artificially stimulates the release of serotonin and elevates serotonin levels in the brain, often making us feel more relaxed and comfortable. If you've ever reached for a box of candy when you were feeling "down," you were – probably without realizing it – trying to find a way to increase your serotonin levels. (Other processed high-carbohydrate foods can have a similar effect, by the way, and I've often speculated that the relaxing effect of the serotonin increase they cause might be one reason high-carbohydrate diets enjoy such popularity. There's certainly little sound scientific research to support the claims of effectiveness that are made for these diets.)

Under normal circumstances, when we're asleep the pineal gland converts serotonin into melatonin, a neurotransmitter critical to normal sleep. Many substances cause disruptions in the serotonin-to-melatonin production cycle. This often results in insomnia, especially the inability to stay asleep during the night, which is one of the classic symptoms experienced by many substances users and abusers.