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The foods we eat can go a long way in boosting our moods. Here are our favorite snacks for happiness, according to science. Achieving happiness is top of mind for many people, and we'll try just about anything to get it. Whether it's therapy, exercise or meditation, we all want to bring more peace and joy into our lives. When we think about what makes us happy, our diet isn't usually at the top of the list (unless your favorite fast-food joint brings joy to mind). The foods we eat actually play a major role in how we feel. Studies...

Low serotonin levels do not cause depression, according to a major review. Today's landmark findings call into question society's ever-growing reliance on antidepressants like Prozac. Millions of patients take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors We believe this situation has been driven partly by the false belief that depression is due to a chemical imbalance. 'It is high time to inform the public that this belief is not grounded in science.' One in six British adults and roughly 13 per cent of Americans take antidepressants, figures suggest. NHS data shows there has been a surge in prescriptions doled out in England, with...

Bodily inflammation dampens levels of a "feel-good molecule" and antidepressants' ability to boost them, according to new research in mice. The findings add to mounting evidence that inflammation, and the accompanying release of the molecule histamine, affects a key molecule responsible for mood in the brain—serotonin. If replicated in humans, the findings—which identify histamine as a "new molecule of interest" in depression—could open new avenues for treating depression, which is the most common mental health problem worldwide. Inflammation—a blanket term describing an immune response—triggers the release of histamine in the body. This increases blood flow to affected areas to flood...

Chalet Reports finds that indiscriminate rampage killings in the United States increased by nearly five times (500 percent) within the first decade after the introduction of serotonin-related antidepressants in the 1960s, and has essentially doubled since then, to nearly 10 times the highest rate of rampage killings in earlier decades, after Eli Lilly first began admitted testing on humans of fluoxetine (known mostly by its brand name Prozac). The bar chart below shows the number of such rampage killing incidents (not number of victims) by decade, beginning in 1900, through August 2018. A proportional line graph of the growth of...

BERKELEY (CBS SF) — Are you a compulsive giggler? Blame it on your family. Researchers at UC Berkeley and Northwestern University say they’ve discovered the “giggle gene” responsible for the regulation of serotonin that makes some of us more prone to bursts of laughter. The study published in the journal Emotion found that people with the short allele of gene variant known as 5-HTTLPR were more likely to smile and laugh while looking at Far Side cartoons and funny video clips. A previous study by the same research team found that people with the same gene were more impacted by...

The latest research exploring the topic found that mice without serotonin still reacted to antidepressants. The data could change the way we think about treating the leading cause of disability worldwide.A lack in serotonin might not be entirely to blame for depression, new evidence suggests. It's widely believed that people with depression don't make enough serotonin-a messenger in the brain. But mice lacking serotonin did not exhibit symptoms of depression, reports a study in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience. When Prozac — which works primarily by increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain — was introduced in the 1980s,...

Just when you thought that serotonin was passé, and you’d tossed all your half-used bottles of S.S.R.I.-type antidepressants because the ones that didn’t give you nausea or smother your libido left you wondering whether you were in the placebo arm of a clinical trial, here comes a raft of new discoveries that sweeps the small, evolutionarily ancient and slyly powerful signaling molecule back on to center stage. Researchers lately have learned that serotonin plays an impressive number of critical roles throughout the body, both below the neck and above it, and from the earliest days of prenatal pre-sentience. One team...

The Sin of SuicideFR. WILLIAM SAUNDERSWhat is the Church's teaching regarding suicide? I always thought that suicide was a mortal sin, so how is it that a person can be buried in the Church? Before addressing the act of suicide, we must first remember that God is the giver of all life. Each of us has been made in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:27) with both a body and a soul. Therefore, life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death, and no one can justify the intentional taking of an innocent human life. For Christians, this teaching...

Enlarge ImageReal effect. Patients with a certain copy of a serotonin gene showed less amygdala activity (left), indicating reduced anxiety, after treatment with placebos. Credit: T. Furmark et al., Journal of Neuroscience To get a drug to market, pharmaceutical companies have to show that it works better than a placebo. But sometimes the placebo is just as powerful as the real thing. Just why our bodies respond so strongly to fake medicine has long been a mystery, but researchers are a step closer to solving that riddle, having picked out a particular gene that may be responsible for one...

WASHINGTON — European scientists have shed new light on the causes of the devastating, inexplicable syndrome known as sudden infant cot death, according to a study published Thursday. The syndrome, which strikes fear into every parent's heart, affects seemingly healthy babies aged between a month to a year, and is main cause of death among infants of that age in developed nations. Now researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Italy have revealed that an imbalance of the neuronal signal, serotonin, in the brainstem caused sudden death in mice, according to the study in Science magazine. The brainstem, which...

Mother-daughter Conflict, Low Serotonin Level May Be Deadly Combination ScienceDaily (Mar. 7, 2008) — A combination of negative mother-daughter relationships and low blood levels of serotonin, an important brain chemical for mood stability, may be lethal for adolescent girls, leaving them vulnerable to engage in self-harming behaviors such as cutting themselves. New University of Washington research indicates that these two factors in combination account for 64 percent of the difference among adolescents, primarily girls, who engage in self-harming behaviors and those who do not. "Girls who engage in self harm are at high risk for attempting suicide, and some of...

The death of Libby Zion, an 18-year-old college student, in a New York hospital on March 5, 1984, led to a highly publicized court battle and created a cause célèbre over the lack of supervision of inexperienced and overworked young doctors. But only much later did experts zero in on the preventable disorder that apparently led to Ms. Zion’s death: a form of drug poisoning called serotonin syndrome. --snip-- In its classic form, serotonin syndrome involves three categories of symptoms: ¶Cognitive-behavioral symptoms like confusion, disorientation, agitation, irritability, unresponsiveness and anxiety. --snip-- Perhaps adding to the diagnostic challenge is the fact...

IN a world first, researchers from NSW have discovered the gene responsible for depression. After 25 years' research, scientists have found that people who carry a particular gene are more likely to suffer depression regardless of their life experiences. The medical breakthrough will have major ramifications for diagnosis and treatment of the disease which affects one in four Australians. The study, to be published in the prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry this week, shows that people who carry a short serotonin transporter gene are predisposed to depression. Conversely, those who carry a long version of the serotonin transporter gene would...

Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and irritability could be due to a poor diet that lacks the essential chemicals to keep the brain healthy, according to a leading mental health charity. A report out tomorrow describes the links between the less severe forms of mental disorder, such as anxiety, and the nation's increasing reliance on ready meals and processed food, which are heavy in pesticides, additives and harmful trans fats. Eating a diet without fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, pulses or nuts deprives the brain of the essential vitamins and nutrients needed to regulate it. ...SNIP... Nutritional deficiency could seriously...

In the 60's to 1989 research into tryptophan grew rapidly, millions used it for depression. In 1989, a contaminated batch forced the FDA to pull tryptophan off the US market, never to return. This destroyed all research into this critical amino acid and cleared the way for pharmaceutical drugs and billions of profits for them. I am asking the question, why do so many drugs work on the tryptophan oxygenase (pyrrolase) pathway? We have antidepressants (all classes). Related articles; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7126996 And here; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1826617 Then we have alcohol; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10721064&query_hl=9 Then we have asprin; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7082905&query_hl=15 Nicotine, morphine, phenobarbitone http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=989&query_hl=17 then we have...

"In the United States, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are advertised directly to consumers [1]. These highly successful direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) campaigns have largely revolved around the claim that SSRIs correct a chemical imbalance caused by a lack of serotonin."

  An anonymous source sent confidential drug company documents that had been missing for more than 10 years to the British Medical Journal. The documents, which suggest a link between Prozac (fluoxetine, made by Eli Lilly) and suicide attempts and violence, will be reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The documents went missing during a 1994 product liability suit. They include reviews and memos indicating that as far back as the 1980s, Eli Lilly officials were not only aware that Prozac had side effects, but also they attempted to minimize those negative effects.The liability suit surrounded...

Days fall into a natural rhythm for early risers But for night owls, life is more a series of chaotic events, study reveals Thursday, August 05, 2004 BY ANGELA STEWART Star-Ledger Staff The early bird catches the worm. And among humans, the early bird has a distinct advantage over the night owl when it comes to staying on schedule, according to a study released yesterday. So-called morning people are better able to maintain regular work and school routines because their body clocks make it easier for them to arrive on time and hassle free. They also find it easier to...

Laurie Coots, a marketing executive who flies to meetings in other countries twice a week, spent years trying to conquer sleepless nights and chronic jet lag. But nothing worked, she says, and every day was a struggle to stay awake. "It was debilitating," said Ms. Coots, 46, who is from Los Angeles. "I couldn't give an effective presentation because I was always shaky and nervous from being amped up on caffeine and stimulants." Then she found modafinil, a small white pill that revs up the central nervous system without the jitteriness of caffeine or the addiction and euphoria of amphetamines....

If the press had its way, the national dialogue would be over a constitutional ban on the controversial Atkins Diet, rather than on the sanctity of marriage. You know the culture war has reached a fevered pitch when you can decipher someone's politics by the diet they choose. It now seems there are few certainties in life, except death, taxes, and that vegans will cast their vote for Ralph Nader. Therefore, the politicizing of the Atkins Diet has come as no surprise. The diet has no shortage of enemies either. Its "reported" emphasis on meat drives vegetarians insane. "Big Sugar",...