Chemistry of Depression/

Anxiety of the Brain.

BY: ALEXIS BARELA

What causes Depression & Anxiety in the brain?
● 3 Neurotransmitters.
Depression and anxiety are caused by a ● Serotonin: “feel good”
neurotransmitter
chemical imbalance in the brain
● Dopamine: plays an important role on
how your brain functions.
● Chemical imbalance- either too little ○ Involves with personality
or too much of certain chemicals disorder
called neurotransmitters in the brain. ● Norepinephrines: a hormone and
● Neurotransmitters- are chemical brain neurotransmitter
messengers in the brain where nerve ○ Releases into the bloodstream
and gives the body sudden
cells communicate with each other.
energy in times of stress.
Causes:
Depression is said to be a result of having
too little serotonin in the brain.
● Still unclear
● Researchers believe that genetics, environmental and social
factors like stress or trauma
 ● There are milions of chemical reactions going on at one time.
● Responsible for persons mood/ feeling
● No way to tell if someone had a chemical imbalance at the brain at that time.

How is the imbalance treated?

● Several medications available to change levels of certain brain chemicals
○ Change levels of dopamine, norodine, serotonin or norepinephrine.
● When it comes to mental disorders, it's hard to tell whether a drug will ensure a cure.
● Some people, depression and other mental disorders are episodic. (Come & Go)

○ Medicines manage symptoms by they can always come back.

 Areas Affected
Amygdala: part of the limbic system, Thalamus: receives most sensory information
● associated with emotions such as: ● relays it to cerebral cortex
○ anger ● directs high-level functions such as:
○ Pleasure ○ Speech
○ Sorrow ○ behavioral reactions
○ Fear ○ Movement
○ sexual arousal ○ Thinking
● activated when a person recalls emotionally ○ learning
charged memories, such as a frightening situation.
 Sources

Harvard Health Publishing. “What Causes Depression?” Harvard Health Blog,

Harvard Health Publishing,
www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-causes-depression.

Schimelpfening, Nancy. “What Is the Chemistry Behind Depression?” Verywell

Mind, Dotdash, www.verywellmind.com/the-chemistry-of-depression-1065137.

Schimelpfening, Nancy. “What Is the Chemistry Behind Depression?” Verywell

Mind, Dotdash, www.verywellmind.com/the-chemistry-of-depression-1065137.