there are range of other factors that might interfere with optimal regulation of serotonin levels in the body such as malfunction of brain cells involved in its secretion, inability of receptor sites to receive and transmit intended signals, shortage of tryptophan and hydroxylase chemicals which are some of the raw materials involved in formation of serotonin (Patterson et al). Disruptions such as this can result to depression, addictions, anxiety, panic and anger feelings.
When any of this happens it is common for people to resort to drugs in order to cope with such feelings; in fact the major reason that is attributed to abuse of drugs is a never ending pursuit to attain “good feelings†especially among persons with depressions. The impact that use of drugs has on serotonin levels and its secretion in the brain is an issue that we shall address more comprehensively at a later section of this paper.
Let us briefly describe the process of secreting serotonin in the brains and see how serotonin affects the brain in the process; a malfunction of the brain cells that secret serotonin can be caused by stress, which then affects the ability of the brain to perform its tasks normally leading to serotonin shortage. Anti-depressant medication such as Celexa, Lexapro and Prozac trigger the production of new brain cells which then boost the level of serotonin thereby reducing the depression levels and correcting the situation (Lowinson, Ruiz and Millman, Langrod).
Although it is generally known that reduced level of serotonin is the main cause of depression, there is no way to measure its level in the brain to ascertain that it is usually in short supply when depression or mental illness develops. However the level of serotonin in the blood can be measured, but even then the direction of the causal-effect relationship that exist is unclear as it is possible that depression could trigger low secretion of serotonin in the brains (Lowinson et al).
