Word: serotonin
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...telling whether it works - products like these aren't classified as drugs, so they aren't evaluated by the FDA - but, at least in theory, it ought to make love, lust or trust bloom a little faster. That's not unlike the drug ecstasy, which triggers the release of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin in the brain and heightens users' feelings of trust and intimacy, even among complete strangers. Concerns that oxytocin might be similarly abused as a recreational drug seem unfounded, however, given that the hormone doesn't produce a high, says zoologist Sue Carter of the University of Illinois...
...least 115 soldiers killed themselves last year, including 36 in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army said on May 29. That's the highest toll since it started keeping such records in 1980. Nearly 40% of Army suicide victims in 2006 and 2007 took psychotropic drugs - overwhelmingly, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac and Zoloft. While the Army cites failed relationships as the primary cause, some outside experts sense a link between suicides and prescription-drug use - though there is also no way of knowing how many suicide attempts the antidepressants may have prevented by improving a soldier's spirits...
...dizziness, drowsiness and other complications made them ill suited for troops in combat. The newer drugs have fewer side effects and, unlike earlier drugs, are generally not addictive or toxic, even when taken in large quantities. They work by keeping neural connections bathed in a brain chemical known as serotonin. That amplifies serotonin's mood-brightening effect, at least for some people...
...neurotransmitter dopamine, making it easier for some people to respond to stress or anxiety. The higher your threshold for those feelings, the higher your tolerance for risk. But that accounts for only 10% of thrill-seeking behavior. A later University of Delaware study suggested that another neurotransmitter, serotonin, plays a role as well. The chemical helps inhibit impulsive behavior, and it could be in short supply in people who take chances. (See the top 10 scientific discoveries...
...People who subscribe to this belief fail to understand several fundamental facts about psychiatric disorders and medications. Antidepressants—that is, serotonin and serotonin-norepenephrine reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs and SNRIs—relieve symptoms of clinical depression by balancing levels of certain chemicals in the brain. Psychiatrists believe that if a person who does not suffer from clinical depression—that is, who has healthy brain chemistry—were to take an antidepressant, he would experience any number of negative side effects while not getting any benefit from the medication...