Depression research suggests that it is related to deficiencies in dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin neurotransmitters. Symptoms of depression include an overwhelming sense of sadness, helplessness, inferiority, despair, worthlessness, crying, guilt, loss of energy, sleeping too much, loss of concentration, and thoughts of suicide. Depression is one of the more difficult disorders to treat because of the multitude of symptoms and episode frequency. Many treatments are available and usually include trial and error to see what works best. Treatments include antidepressant drugs used to increase concentrations of deficient neurotransmitters, sometimes in combination with antipsychotic drugs, and also electroconvulsive shock therapy (Messer).
There have been many advances in brain chemistry research during recent years. Understanding how the brain works has led to the identification of neurotransmitters and what their functions are. Understanding how genes affect brain chemistry and our behavior has helped us identify particular genes and their function leading us to treatments of specific disorders. Drugs are now available that target specific neurotransmitters and functions in the brain with fewer side effects. Treatment of mental illness is now more successful than at any other time in history due to advances in our understanding brain chemistry and how it works. The future looks promising as research in brain chemistry continues and the advancement of knowledge provides more insight as to what makes us who we are.
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