Is the serotonin hypothesis dead? If so, how will clinical psychology respond?

Date

2022

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

For decades models of mental illness, particularly depression, have been influenced by the serotonin hypothesis (Coppen, 1967; Fakhoury, 2016). Specifically, that dysregulation in the serotonin neural system is an underlying biological cause of affective disorders. This model is the primary justification for the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs; e.g., Prozac [Fluoxetine], Zoloft [Sertraline], Lexapro [Escitalopram]). SSRI prescription is extremely popular within modern psychiatry, with an estimated 13% of people living in the United States having taken an SSRI within the past 30 days (Brody and Gu, 2020). World-wide estimates are difficult to obtain, but developed European nations report commensurate prescribing activity (Abbing-Karahagopian et al., 2014), with indicators suggesting that SSRI prescriptions are increasing worldwide (Lockhart and Guthrie, 2011; Chen et al., 2022). Notably, estimates suggest the SSRI industry to be worth over $15 billion (USD) as of 2021 (Antidepressants Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Implications Growth to 2030, 2021)

Description

© 2022 Borgogna and Aita. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Rights

Availability

Keywords

serotonin hypothesis, affective disorders, depression, clinical psychologists, medication

Citation

Borgogna NC and Aita SL (2022) Is the serotonin hypothesis dead? If so, how will clinical psychology respond? Front. Psychol. 13:1027375. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1027375

Collections