Biochemical Flashcards
What is serotonin? (Biochemical depression)
A neurotransmitter
What does serotonin act as and do? (Biochemical depression)
Serotonin acts as a chemical carrier, transferring messages from the pre-synaptic nerve to the receptors on the post-synaptic nerve across the synaptic gap
Why do scientists believe low serotonin is associated with low mood? (Biochemical depression)
Insufficient production/lack of receptor sites or a shortage of tryptophan
What did Malison (2009) do? (Biochemical depression)
He used PET scans to analyse the activity of receptor sites in clinically depressed and stable people
What did Malison (2009) find? (Biochemical depression)
The number of active receptor sites was significantly lower in clinically depressed patients
How does Prozac work? (Biochemical depression)
Prozac prevents the reuptake of serotonin, meaning more is available
What did Kraft (2005) find? (Biochemical depression)
Clinically depressed individuals showed a very positive response to a placebo
How I’d depression and noradrenaline linked? (Biochemical depression)
Depression may stem from the deficiency in the neurotransmitter noradrenaline
What did Bunney et al (1965) find? (Biochemical depression)
Indirect markers of noradrenaline e.g. Bi-products, were often associated with low mood
What did Davis et al (2003) find? (Biochemical depression)
When individuals who do not suffer from depression are given drugs that reduces serotonin and noradrenaline, their mood does not decrease
What is the main focus of the biochemical approach? (Biochemical depression)
Serotonin and noradrenaline
