Fukyo
blurb blurb
- Local time
- Today 11:36 AM
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2009
- Messages
- 4,289
With some reservation since this was written by Jonah Lehrer...
I read this article about 4 years ago, found it very fascinating and disconcerting, but couldn't find it, until yesterday. Could be old news by now though.
How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction
I read this article about 4 years ago, found it very fascinating and disconcerting, but couldn't find it, until yesterday. Could be old news by now though.
How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction
For decades, researchers struggled to identify the underlying cause of depression, and patients were forced to endure a series of ineffective treatments. But then came Prozac. Like many other antidepressants, Prozac increases the brain's supply of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. The drug's effectiveness inspired an elegant theory, known as the chemical hypothesis: Sadness is simply a lack of chemical happiness. The little blue pills cheer us up because they give the brain what it has been missing.
In recent years, scientists have developed a novel theory of what falters in the depressed brain. Instead of seeing the disease as the result of a chemical imbalance, these researchers argue that the brain's cells are shrinking and dying. This theory has gained momentum in the past few months, with the publication of several high profile scientific papers. The effectiveness of Prozac, these scientists say, has little to do with the amount of serotonin in the brain. Rather, the drug works because it helps heal our neurons, allowing them to grow and thrive again.