Neurotransmitter Serotonin Cause Depression Psychology Essay

Neurotransmitter Serotonin Cause Depression Psychology Essay According to the World Health Organization, about 121 million people across the globe suffer from depression and the WHO has ranked depression as fourth in a list of most urgent problems worldwide (2). It is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder and is responsible for nearly 850,000 deaths every year. Supporting this fact, statistics have revealed that the use of anti-depressants has soared over 400 percent in the past two decades (3). According to Kresser, a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of integrative medicine, several chemically distinct anti-depressants marketed under trade names such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil now enjoy immense popularity as anti-depressants (4). Amongst the four classes of anti-depressant medication, namely selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), atypical depressants, tricyclic anti-depressants (TCAs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), SSRIs have been the most widely prescribed medication by physicians. In this essay, the terms S SRI and anti-depressant will be used interchangeably. The current model of SSRIs assumes that a low level of extracellular neurotransmitter, serotonin, is primarily responsible for depression. Serotonin in our body can be found in two places 80 percent of it in our gastrointestinal tract while the rest in our brain (5). The 80 percent of serotonin function as hormones and they play a role in muscular contractions whereas the 20 percent act as a neurotransmitter in our brain (6). In our brain there are many cells called neurons, which are separated by small gaps. Messages carried by neurotransmitters are delivered from one neuron to another across the gaps. These messages come in the form of chemical impulses, and contain information about mood, behaviour, body temperature, appetite and sleep. Once a neurotransmitter leaves the sending neuron, it will latch onto the receiving neuron and relay chemical impulses over. Then the neurotransmitter returns to its sending neuron to be re-used again this process is called reuptake. On the other hand, if there are inadequate amounts of neurotransmitters, the next impulse does not fire off and messages will not be relayed. (7) SSRIs work to block or slow down the reuptake of serotonin in particular, hence increasing the amount of extracellular serotonin. As a result, more serotonin are present in the gaps which will increase rate of successful transmission of impulses to the receiving neuron. SSRI is hence engineered on the belief that serotonin is the cause of depression. However ever since the advent of the drug and its side-effects exposed, drug researchers are compelled to re-investigate the efficacy of SSRIs, in which confounding results were revealed. The investigation into the serotonin-depression link will not only prevent doctors making inappropriate prescriptions that may not be in the best interest of their patients health, it also allows a clearer definition of the causes of depression. Ultimately, establishing the proper function of serotonin may lead to a ground-breaking change in the methodology of treating depression and related disorders in the psychiatric and pharmacology world. While most people concur with the belief that a deficiency of serotonin is related to depression, some argue that an imbalance in serotonin levels leads to depression. This imbalance theory arises because of the widespread notion that SSRIs are only effective for patients with moderate to severe depression while it is ineffective for mildly depressed patients. The basis of the debate surrounding the efficacy of SSRIs in fact boils down to a deeper problem whether or not the neurotransmitter, serotonin, is related to depression at all. Nevertheless, I oppose both claims of the serotonin-depression link and contest that there is no coherence between levels of serotonin and depression. Up till now, there have no substantial evidence that depression is caused by serotonin deficiency, neither is there one that shows that over stimulation of serotonin causes depression. Efficacy of SSRIs challenged by small drug-placebo difference Many studies have shown that the efficacy of SSRI drugs in the treatment of depression is challenged by low drug-placebo difference scores. Studies to investigate the efficacy of anti-depressants by giving placebos to a controlled group have revealed that the recovery rate of patients who took a glucose pill was equivalent to patients who consumed the anti-depression drug (8). A 2008 meta analysis of the efficacy of SSRIs that was published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), revealed that these anti-depressants have no clinically significant edge over all placebos. By this, it means that it did not meet the drug licensing authority, UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) standards. As evident in the meta analysis, the placebo response groups account for up to 75 percent of all positive effects of anti-depressant medication (9) which shows that 3 in 4 of all patients who reported an increase in heightened emotional well-being were actually consuming sugar pills. O ther studies yielded similar results a study by Khan et al. found a 10 percent difference in level of symptoms when patients consume the inert placebos compared to the active drugs in two separate meta-analyses (10). As the drug-placebo difference is small, it can be seen that regardless of whether SSRI is administered or not, symptoms of depression are still greatly reduced. This implies that serotonin level may not be related to depression at all. Opponents argue that experiments to test the efficacy of SSRIs against inert placebos may not be accurate because the side effects of SSRIs are not mimicked. They claim that commonly known side effects of SSRIs, such as diarrhoea, nausea, dizziness, headaches or even gastrointestinal bleeding (11) may affect patients mood, which in turn underrate the impact of serotonin in lifting depression. This claim is however rejected by many scientific literatures which show counter-evidences. According to Joanna Moncrieff, the co-chair person of Critical Psychiatry Network, when she used active placebos to simulate the adverse-effects of SSRIs in anti-depressant drug trials, results revealed that differences between active placebo and SSRI were significantly small (12). To measure severity of depression before and after the drug trials, the conventional Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression (HRSD) was used. Since it did not meet NICE standards of an improvement in rating score of 3 points to be defined as clinically significant (8), the above studies involving inert and active placebos clearly show that no matter which placebo type was administered active or inert, drug versus placebo significance in anti-depressant efficacy is clinically insignificant. Whether or not the level of serotonin is increased, patients reported a reduction in symptoms of depression, therefore there is little evidence to say that a lack of this neurotransmitter causes depression. Another common belief by proponents of anti-depressants is that initial severity of depression is directly related to the effectiveness of SSRIs, that SSRIs work best for patients with very severe depression. It is thought that over stimulation of serotonin may cause further chemical imbalance in patients suffering from mild depression, hence rendering SSRIs ineffective (13). Thus in order to test this claim, Kirsch et al moved on to investigate whether initial severity of depression affects the efficacy of anti-depressants. He tested on the hypothesis that anti-depressants work only for people suffering from moderate to major depression. In this double-blinded study of 35 clinical trials involving 5,133 subjects, both drug administers and subjects were unknown to results of randomized medication (placebo or SSRI) to prevent sampling biasness and subjects severity of depression was measured by HRSD (14). The test was conducted to see if there is an improvement in the subjects depress ion, measured against their baseline severity and the final conclusion is as follows: patients with an initial moderate depression did not report a drug-placebo difference, patients with an initial severe depression reported a relatively small drug-placebo difference and only for patients situated at the upper end of very severe depression category did the drug-placebo difference fall into the clinically significant criterion by NICE standards (8). Although effectiveness of SSRIs may seem to improve with the severity of depression, further research has revealed a negative coherence between severity and placebo response. As highlighted from Figure 1, the drug-placebo difference reached clinical standards for people with a higher initial severity of depression. Further analysis shows that a higher drug-placebo difference is due to a decrease in improvement of the placebo group rather than due to the effects of SSRIs. Figure 1. Mean Standardized Improvement as a Function of Initial Severity and Treatment Group, Including Only Trials Whose Samples Had High Initial Severity graph.png Source: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045.g003representation=PNG_M This implies that the increased benefit for extremely depressed patients seems attributable to a response-deficiency to placebos rather than a heightened response to SSRI medication. Therefore efficacy of SSRI does not increase with severity of depression and increasing amount of serotonin did not work for patients with all levels of depression. Since SSRIs are designed to alleviate depression by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin in our brain cells, it shows that there is no relationship between extracellular serotonin and ones mood. Furthermore, it usually take weeks before effects of anti-depressants are expressed and can be measured by testing for serotonin levels in the blood, yet patients often report relief within hours or days of medication. Therefore this phenomenon demonstrates the lack of correlation between serotonin and depression and gives support to the placebo effect. The lack in correlation is further evidenced by the results of a Force Swim Test (FST). FST, also known as the behavioural despair test, is a conventional anti-depressant screening test which involves using rodents as test subjects. In this test, rats are dropped in an enclosed water cylinder and their movements observed. The struggling time of rats is measured based on the assumption that immobility of rats is directly proportional to their state of depression. For example depressed rats will cease trying and float in the cylinder, which is akin to despair, whereas non-depressed rats will continue to struggle in search of a way out (15). Although it is thought that SSRIs should extend struggling time of rats, final results were inconsistent hence inconclusive (16). The administration of SSRIs in rodents did not make them less susceptible to depression, displaying no direct relationship between serotonin and depression. Nonetheless, it should be noted that experiments done on mice ma y not be entirely accurate in predicting responses in humans (17). The bold assumption made by researchers The serotonin-depression link came about when scientists first discovered that in most depressed patients, the level of serotonin is comparably lower than that in non-depressed people. The amount of serotonin in a humans body was measured by comparing blood samples taken from depressed and healthy people. Subsequently the anti-depressant SSRI was invented, which targets the neurotransmitter serotonin and works to stimulate the production of it. This methodology then raises a few doubts. Firstly, the assumption that blood serotonin and brain serotonin are directly proportional can be contested as it is certainly impossible to measure the amount of serotonin in the brain. Patients who have high levels of serotonin in the blood may have low levels of serotonin in the brain and vice versa. As mentioned earlier, 80 percent of the humans body total serotonin is found in our bloodstream and the rest in the brain. While the level of blood serotonin can be measured, current biomedical technol ogy has yet to transcend the brain barrier. In all clinical trials involving SSRIs, the assumption made is that blood serotonin reflects brain serotonin, which is a very bold one to make. This then creates a paradox in research methodology: the reason for inventing SSRIs instead of feeding serotonin directly to a humans body is due to the blood-brain barrier. Orally ingested serotonin are ineffective as they do not pass through bloodstreams into the brain, that is the digestive system is unparallel to the central nervous system. Whereas SSRIs work because they merely seek to enhance an impulse that is already present, but too feeble to cross the gap. Yet scientists conveniently established a link between serotonin and depression by measuring serotonin in patients blood. It is reasonable to say that since blood serotonin is not proven to be a clear indication of brain serotonin, any positive outcomes of anti-depressant drug trials may not be due to the increase in brain serotonin bu t other unknown factors. This again shows a lack of tangible evidence between the neurotransmitter, serotonin, and depression. Secondly, in all probability that there is a direct attestation of serotonin deficiency in any mental disorder lacking, it is still unclear whether low levels of serotonin causes depression or depression causes a dip in serotonin. Evidences supporting the latter can be based on observations of non-depressed people with low amounts of serotonin. In a 1996 investigation of the biochemistry of depression, attempts made to induce depression by reducing serotonin levels yielded no consistent results (18). Similarly, researchers found that a surge in brain serotonin, arrived at by administering SSRIs, were ineffective at alleviating depression (19). Therefore there is little evidence to support serotonin as a mood chemical. Also problematic for the serotonin-depression claim is the expanding field of research comparing SSRIs to other anti-depression drugs that do not target serotonin specifically (20). For instance, the atypical anti-depressant buproprion (21) and St. Johns Wort (22), which do not alter the level of serotonin were proven to be just as effective as SSRIs in the treatment for depression. Therefore doubts about the serotonin-depression link are acknowledged by many researchers as well as by advocates of SSRIs (23). To supplement my stand, serotonin is not listed as the cause of depression disorder in the  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (24). The American Psychiatric Press Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry (25) also reiterates that serotonin deficiency as an unconfirmed hypothesis (20). In short, there exists no rigorous corroboration of the serotonin theory, which may suggest the reliability of positive drug trials published by drug companies. Conclusion In addition to what textbooks have to say about serotonin, it is important to look at what not being said in scientific literature. There are numerous peer-reviewed articles supporting the disconnect between serotonin and depression however not a single one can be precisely cited to directly endorse claims of a serotonin deficiency in any mental disorders (20). Assuming that blood serotonin is a good measure for brain serotonin, abundant evidences of high placebo significance in anti-depressant drug trials, the rejection of the claim that efficacy of SSRIs depends on severity of depression, and an inconsistent Force Swim Test results indicate that serotonin may not be the cause of depression. No doubt there may be a positive outcomes from the drug trials, however because blood serotonin may not reflect brain serotonin, these outcomes coupled with the above mentioned proofs against the serotonin hypothesis strongly suggest that other factors are involved in depression. The incongruenc e between the scientific literature and the claims made by proponents are prominent, hence I stand for the fact that there is no direct correlation between serotonin level and depression.

Developments and Training

In the world we are living in organizations are faced with risks and threats due to introduction of technology and thus for organizations to succeed in their operations they need to train their employees so that they can overcome these risks and threats. Training involves using an experienced person to inform, teach and to convey information to the audience so that they can acquire the necessary skills and knowledge that would enable them to perform their effectively in their organizations. If people in the organizations are trained they become satisfied with the work that they are doing and this improves their morale.With the effective training employees can not leave their organizations because training it enables them to have the relevant skills and knowledge needed to perform their activities effectively. The image of the company can improved when the training is conducted because the employees in the organization become motivated and they enable them to talk about the positive s ide of the company. When an organization conducts training it enables it to develop strategies that can help the organization to achieve its objectives since training enables one to acquire new ideas of running and managing the operations of a company.It also helps a company to manage its finance effectively since training ensures that the management determine the issues that are cost effective thus it reduces the expenses of the company. In case of a public company which is a business organization, it is owned by the shareholders who contribute money known as capital. This capital is used to finance the operations of the business and incase the organizations may lack some funds to run their businesses they can borrow funds from the commercial banks and International bodies such as International Monetary Funds and the World Bank.The company is usually run by people known as the directors they ensure that the operations of the company are run effectively, incase the companies receive profits at the end of their financial periods they can distribute the profits in form of dividends to the shareholders and in other cases their can retain some of their money in reserves so that they can be able to do other business affairs such as expanding the company to meet the needs of the customers of the company. http://www.businessballs. com/training program evaluation.htmlIn companies there are many people who are employed, some of whom may be recruited directly from college and thus may lack the necessary experience to run the affairs of the company, others may have the experience to run the company but may lack relevant experience to run the affairs of the company thus there is a need to train all its employees so that they can gain the relevant experience that is required to run the company’s affairs effectively.The company can develop in house training program this program is usually designed to suit the needs of the company’s its allows the employees to train and develop their skills without moving from their working environment thus it saves on time and money since the employees don’t need to travel from one place to the place in order for them to acquire the knowledge and skills of running the company successfully.This training program is designed to train employees of a manufacturing company that produces horticultural products . The Company has more than one hundred employees who are trained on how to handle the product carefully because they are manufactured for export purposes and thus safety precautions must be taken because the products are manufactured using poisonous chemicals since act as preservatives and enable the product to last for a longer period of time without getting spoilt.The Coastal Recursor Humanos is a communications computer company that sells the leading safety training videos ,cd-roms,interactive safety training programs ,safety handbooks,trairning toolkits and safety posters thus the horticultura l company can access this facilities so that it can effectively train its customers on how to handle this products.The company can identify its training needs by obtaining information from the employees of the company about problems that they experience in the company such as poor working environment that can affect the performance of the employees for example if there is inadequate working area for the employees to work on or if the employees may be under paid or over worked this can affect their performance thus the in-house training program can enable the management to address the problems of the employees of the company and they can thus take the necessary measures to rectify the problems of the company . A training need of the can be identified through looking at the position of the economy, if the economy of the country is performing well then the management need to train their employees frequently so that they can be able to cater for the demands of the customers .When the ec onomy is performing properly the circulation of money is usually high and this leads to high demand for goods and services thus the need for the management train to it employees on how to handle the employees , but if the economy of the company is not performing properly the training program activities of the company can be reduced due to lack of the necessary resources to develop the program since for the program to run effectively it needs money to purchase the training videos ,training tool kits and the training safety posters from the Coastal Recursors Humanos communications company and money to hire the trainers is required to cater for their wages and salaries http://www. businessballls. com/freeonlineresources. htm .The management of the company can develop its program by establishing the training mediums that can ensure that it achieves its objectives this include internal mediums the company can access the information about improving the operations of the business by consul ting the employees themselves, they can give the management the reasons why they are not performing and thus identify the problems in the organization thus a good program can be developed and structured to meet the needs of the employees in their workplaces . The management can acquire information from other parties who are not employees of the company to gather information about the policies that need to be implemented so that the company can run it activities effectively thus this can sharpen the companies effectiveness and can help improve its performance.The training materials that can be used by the management of the company are templates, samples, resources such as articles, tools and diagrams they can provide information to help the company employees understand its operations they contain detailed information about the structure roles and responsibilities of the employees this act as a guide of how the company has been designed and thus it makes it ease for them understand th e activities of the company. http://wwbusinessballs. com/workshops. htm The training materials can be created by the experts of the programs they can do this by determining the needs of the company that need to be addressed . They need to outline the skills that they intend to teach .The skills need to be divided into groups and then into steps so that the necessary time can be allocated to the tasks that need to be urgently addressed. Once the steps have been prepared and all the necessary information that needs to be tackled by the experts of the programs they should design the presentation perfectly so that all the relevant information that needs to be conveyed to the employees is done effectively. http://wwbusinessballs. com/workshops. htm The management of the company can deliver its training through workshops that entail team building, communications, motivation, and planning these can empower the employees of the company to work more effectively since it enables them to acqui re the necessary information that is needed to run the affairs of the company effectively.Training can be delivered through conducting in-house training, by creating a tailored course and by recognizing informal training this helps the company to reduce its expenses, helps the management to deliver its information to the employees effectively and reduces wastage of time and money since the information that needs to be conveyed is always within the reach of the employees of the company. The effectiveness of a in house training program can be evaluated by the top management who ensure that training program is carried out effectively. They also ensure that training plans are properly documented so that they can give the management the direction of conducting their business.There are evaluation materials that a company can use so that it can determine how it performs its activities these are end –of- program validation method, feedback process and follow-up instruments they deter mine what the employees have learnt in their in house training programs ,they give the employees time to reflect on the all that they have learnt and also enables them to apply all that they have learnt during the training section . The evaluation questionnaires can be used to evaluate whether the objectives of the company have been applied. The employees of the company need to prepare action plans so that they evaluate whether they have understood all that they have been taught in the in- house training program, incase they have not applied the necessary techniques of carrying out their activities then they can take the necessary measures to implement them.The in-house training program for the company can be sustained through establishing long-term goals and then implementing the goals of the company so that there can be consistency in carrying out the activities of the company. The management should be involved in the development of the program since they can ensure that all the n ecessary information that needs to addressed is followed and finally implemented The goals of the company can be sustained if the companies results show some improvement, if the results of the company don’t improve then the management can either rectify the program or they can develop another programs that can suit the needs of the company.An in-house training program can be enforced by the managements company through ensuring that all employees who don’t comply with the rules and regulations of the company are dealt with accordingly such as they may be punished so that they can comply with the rules and the regulations of the company. The in house training programs can bring high performance to the company because if the management of the company addresses the problems that have been identified by the management and the employees of the organization then the company can operate successfully. If in the in- house training program the trainer is able to identify the uniq ue potentials of the employees and then be able to illustrate how the employees would be assigned with tasks they are familiar so that they can perform effectively then this can be a good sign that the in-house program is effective.

If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Staar Essay 7th Grade Samples

If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Staar Essay 7th Grade Samples The Death of Staar Essay 7th Grade Samples Each pack includes 10 carrots. We anticipate getting to know your family members. If you truly believe they're making a bad option, you negotiate, she states. These methods will certainly be very effective when parents implement them in the most suitable way. The best way isn't to cram for the test, yet to practice a couple of months beforehand. C isn't the best choice as it is misspelled. A, C, and D aren't the best choices because all of them offer details and specifics rather than establishing a wide summary of the paragraph. These tools must be secured and should have the ability to guarantee that in no way a kid's internet safety will be in danger. In the event the very first dose is administered on or following the 16th birthday, a booster dose isn't required. Also, it's important to assist your child develop the practice of solving problems step by step and in a tidy manner to prevent any mistakes. Ask your kid to compose a composition a couple of times a month or to even maintain a diary. What Staar Essay 7th Grade Samples Is - and What it Is Not Any person who has attained her or his fiftieth birthday isn't required to get rubella vaccine except in outbreak circumstances. It doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it's not proud. Estimates will be employed to predict results and examine the reasonableness of results. Students are requested to ascertain whether a specific answer is required or if an estimate is going to do. Ever since that time, Bear has been my very best friend. The digital world here at Math Blaster is full of a number of cool math games for children. Genius corner through its on-line teaching programme is imparting best of the services in the discipline of mathematics and a massive section of students are becoming benefitted. There are several such free math games that you may start looking for online or there are even websites where it is possible to get yourself registered and let your children do their math online. You may also visit our next web pages on various stuff in math. If you're a math teacher or a parent who's interested in a completely free application that will allow you to compose viable and nice formulas like limit symbol, square root, and many other math symbols and numbers, so you could always display a good formula on PowerPoint, this short article is for you. Through internet math tutoring, your kid's academic performance in mathematics will absolutely be improved. The surest approach to obtain the vital abilities and knowledge is with practice. Additionally, seventh grade students ought to be in a position to choose among simple, compound, and intricate sentences to signal distinctive relationships among ideas. Acquiring the required wisdom and skills won't happen immediately, so students should practice regularly.

The Basics of Adult Learning

Do you remember what it was like to sit in a classroom? Rows of desks and chairs faced the teacher at the front of the room. Your job as a student was to be quiet, listen to the teacher, and do what you were told. This is an example of teacher-centered learning, usually involving children, called pedagogy. Adult Learning Adult learners have a different approach to learning. By the time you reach adulthood, you’re most likely responsible for your own success and you’re perfectly capable of making your own decisions once you have the information you need. Adults learn best when learning is focused on adult students, not on the teacher. This is called andragogy, the process of helping adults learn. The Differences Malcolm Knowles, a pioneer in the study of adult learning, observed that adults learn best when: They understand why something is important to know or do.They have the freedom to learn in their own way.Learning is experiential.​The time is right for them to learn.The process is positive and encouraging. Continuing Education Continuing education is a broad term. In the most general sense, any time you return to a classroom of any kind to learn something new, you are continuing your education. As you can imagine, this encompasses everything from graduate degrees to listening to personal development CDs in your car. Common types of continuing education: Earning a GED, the equivalent of a high school diplomaPost-secondary degrees such as a bachelor’s, or graduate degrees such as a master’s or doctorateProfessional certificationOn-the-job trainingEnglish as a second languagePersonal development Where It All Happens The methods involved in achieving continuing education are just as diverse. Your school can be a traditional classroom or a conference center near a beach. You might start before dawn or study after a day of work. Programs can take months, even years, to complete, or last just a few hours. Your job can depend on completion, and sometimes, your happiness. Continuous learning, no matter how old you are, has clear benefits, from finding and keeping the job of your dreams to remaining fully engaged in life in your later years. It’s never too late. Should You Go Back to School? So what is it you want to learn or achieve? Have you been meaning to go back to school to earn your GED? Your bachelor’s degree? Is your professional certificate in danger of expiring? Do you feel the urge to grow personally, learn a new hobby, or advance in your company? Keeping in mind how adult learning differs from your childhood schooling, ask yourself some questions: Why am I thinking about school lately?What exactly do I want to achieve?Can I afford it?Can I afford not to?Is this the right time in my life?Do I have the discipline and the freedom right now to study?Can I find the right school, the one that will help me learn the way I learn best?How much encouragement will I need and can I get it? It’s a lot to think about, but remember, if you really want something, you’re likely capable of making it happen. And there are a lot of people available to help you.