Neurotransmission

Effects of serotonin

• Mood: regulates moood (ecstasy causes a rise in serotonin levels, but can trigger depression as it wears of and serotonin levels in the synapse drop)

• Sexual function: medication that increases serotonin (antidepressants) decrease libido and sexual function/low levels of serotonin when intoxicated are associated with high libido and sexual aggression

• Depression: low levels of serotonin cause depression

Effects of dopamine

• Movement and speech: when dopamine producing cells in the brain die off, people can have trouble initiating movements (Parkinson’s disease)/medication helps the brain to produce more dopamine

• Pleasure, reward and learning: when reward is received or expected, dopamine levels rise/feeling of pleasure and reward alter behavior to get more in the future

• Addiction: addictive drugs cause increase in dopamine levels/causes brain to associate drug with feeling of reward/motivates reuse/same with other addictions

Rogers

A: role serotonin plays in perceiving emotional intimacy

P: 40 healthy male adults/half received drink containing tryptophan (increases serotonin levels) / other half received drink without/given photos and asked to rate how intimate and romantic the couples appeared

F: lower serotonin levels = less intimate and romantic rating

C: serotonin plays a role in how people judge emotional closeness of others relationships/depressed people report feelings of loneliness and social isolation

Evaluate Rogers

• experimental method demonstrates casual relationship between levels of serotonin and rating of relationship intimacy

• Low ecological validity

• Small scale in the UK, should be replicated on a larger scale