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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent

Study finds first direct evidence of a link between low serotonin and depression

Prozac pills
Experts said the findings could help pave the way to better understanding of why SSRI drugs fail to help an estimated 10% to 30% of patients. Photograph: Bsip Sa/Alamy

Scientists claim to have found the first direct evidence that people with depression have a reduced capacity for releasing serotonin in the brain.

The findings from a brain-imaging study reignite a debate within psychiatry over the so-called serotonin hypothesis of depression and challenge the conclusions of an influential review published in July that found “no clear evidence” that low serotonin levels are responsible. The latest work, led by scientists at Imperial College London, suggested that people with depression have a decreased serotonin response.

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