depression study Flashcards
how do you detect the receptor e 5-HT2A ?
with a chemical called altanserin, which sticks to serotonin receptors and allows the PET scanner to take pictures of them.
what was minutes hypothesis?
Because most people with depression get better when their serotonin levels increase after treatment with SSRIs, Mintun initially believed the PET scans would reveal high levels of serotonin receptors in brain structures linked to depression. The hypothesis was that because less serotonin was available, the brain would try to compensate by making more receptors.
what did minute actually discover?
Mintun and his colleagues reported that the depressed people actually had fewer serotonin receptors throughout the brain and significantly fewer receptors in a key structure called the hippocampus, an area that acts as a gateway between memory and mood, among other processes.
outline mintuns study?
Mintun and his colleagues studied 46 people with active depression and compared positron emission tomography (PET) scans of their brains to scans from 29 people who were not depressed. The team was measuring levels of a particular type of serotonin receptor called the 5-HT2A receptor. The PET scan detected the irregularity in the brains of these patients.
