Serotonin Theory

Currently, there are substantial disagreements within the scientific community regarding the roots of depression. For decades, some psychologists and other professionals have supported the serotonin hypothesis of depression, which proposes that a shortage -or in some instances, an overload- of the chemical neurotransmitter serotonin causes depressive disorder. However, with increased research, along with refined imaging techniques in mood disorders, experts are beginning to reject the chemical imbalance hypothesis. This is because the greater steps taken with the imaging technology has allowed neurobiologists to show what differentiates the depressed brain from the non-depressed brain (Marano, 1999, p. 30). Prior to these techniques, many …show more content…
Depression, a very complex ailment, is a combination of many different issues, including structural abnormalities of various brain regions and functional abnormalities that primarily have a biological basis. The disorder cannot be attributed to an imbalance of any particular brain chemical. Individuals who fail to see the biological basis of depression and those who believe the serotonin hypothesis misconception about the disorder need to be further educated in order for psychologists to see improvement in depression recovery by incorporating more biologically based methods into their treatment …show more content…
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) studies have evidenced the fact that the brains of depressed individuals look different than the brains of those without depression (Sackheim & Prohovnik, 1993, p. 205). For example, brain scans of depressed persons have reported abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex area of the brain (Nestler, 2002, p. 15). In a sample of elderly depressed individuals, the researchers found that frontal lobe volume was smaller in the depressed individuals by an average of approximately 7% (Sackheim & Prohovnik, 1993, p.