What is serotonin and what causes it to fluctuate?

Question

i have googled it and i am still confused.

Answer 1

Honestly, no one knows. That's why SSRIs, etc. are "try this and see what happens" kind of drugs. Ask this in the biology section and you might get scientific answers.

Answer 2

serotonin is a neurotransmiter in the central nervous system . this regulate the mood,sleep,appettite,s*x.

Answer 3

Serotonin: "A hormone, also called 5-hydroxytryptamine, in the pineal gland, blood platelets, the digestive tract, and the brain. Serotonin acts both as a chemical messenger that transmits nerve signals between nerve cells and that causes blood vessels to narrow. Changes in the serotonin levels in the brain can alter the mood. For example, medications that affect the action of serotonin are used to treat depression".

In English, this means that if your serotonin levels drop, your mood will change. You could be happy one minute, then if your serotonin level drops, you could be very sad or depressed. If the nerve cells in your brain slow down the blood flow to your brain, it will cause your happy mood to slide and if the brain does not receive enough blood to this area, you will feel depressed.

I hope this helps a bit. People who suffer from depression, manic depression, bipolar disorder, etc. are missing the nerve cell connection to the blood vessels that give the brain it's "happy" feeling. Medication replaces this, giving a somewhat more stable replacement. For a patient with this condition, it is difficult to actually feel "happy". Steady is a better word.

Answer 4

I agree with the guy's answer below. What causes it to fluctuate, in my opinion, are the different feelings and emotions going on in your head and throughout your body. Some people naturally have higher levels of it than other people. And some people are on medication to help balance it out.