Serotonin deficiency may not be behind depression

A new study has demonstrated that deficiency in serotonin, which act as a chemical messenger in the brain, leads to depression.

The study conducted by Medical Center and Wayne State University School of Medicine, showed that that depression posed a major public health problem.

Scientists reported that mice lacking the ability to make serotonin in their brains did not show depression-like symptoms.

Scientists believed that boosting levels of the signaling molecule was the key to solving depression.

Researchers developed "knockout" mice that lacked the ability to produce serotonin in their brains and then the scientists ran a battery of behavioral tests.

The research showed that the knockout mice behaved in the same way most of the normal mice did and a subset of the knockout mice responded therapeutically to antidepressant medications in a similar manner to the normal mice.

Findings further suggested that serotonin was not a major player in the condition, and different factors must be involved.

The study is published in journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.