The serotonin hypothesis of depression: both long discarded and still supported?

Joanna Moncrieff^{1

2}, Ruth E Cooper³, Tom Stockmann⁴, Simone Amendola⁵, Michael P Hengartner⁵, Martin Plöderl⁶, Mark A Horowitz^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK. j.moncrieff@ucl.ac.uk.
² Research and Development Department, Research and Development Department, North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), Rainham, UK. j.moncrieff@ucl.ac.uk.
³ NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
⁴ Praevmedic, Zürich, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Applied Psychology, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁶ University Clinic of Psychiatry Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
⁷ Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
⁸ Research and Development Department, Research and Development Department, North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), Rainham, UK.

Comment

Joanna Moncrieff et al. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Aug.

. 2023 Aug;28(8):3160-3163.

doi: 10.1038/s41380-023-02094-z. Epub 2023 Jun 16.

Joanna Moncrieff^{1

2}, Ruth E Cooper³, Tom Stockmann⁴, Simone Amendola⁵, Michael P Hengartner⁵, Martin Plöderl⁶, Mark A Horowitz^{7

8}

¹ Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK. j.moncrieff@ucl.ac.uk.
² Research and Development Department, Research and Development Department, North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), Rainham, UK. j.moncrieff@ucl.ac.uk.
³ NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
⁴ Praevmedic, Zürich, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Applied Psychology, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁶ University Clinic of Psychiatry Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
⁷ Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
⁸ Research and Development Department, Research and Development Department, North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), Rainham, UK.

No abstract available

Comment on

The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence.
Moncrieff J, Cooper RE, Stockmann T, Amendola S, Hengartner MP, Horowitz MA. Moncrieff J, et al. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Aug;28(8):3243-3256. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01661-0. Epub 2022 Jul 20. Mol Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 35854107 Free PMC article.

1. Moncrieff J, Cooper RE, Stockmann T, Amendola S, Hengartner MP, Horowitz MA. The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence. Mol Psychiatry. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01661-0 .
1. Ang B, Horowitz M, Moncrieff J. Is the chemical imbalance an “urban legend”? An exploration of the status of the serotonin theory of depression in the scientific literature. SSM-Mental Health. 2022;2:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100098 .
1. Priest RG, Vize C, Roberts A, Roberts M, Tylee A. Lay people’s attitudes to treatment of depression: results of opinion poll for Defeat Depression Campaign just before its launch. BMJ. 1996;313:858–9. - DOI - PubMed - PMC
1. Bartova L, Lanzenberger R, Rujescu D, Kasper S. Reply to: “The Serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence.” 2023 [in press].
1. Jauhar S, Arnone D, Baldwin D, Bloomfield M, Browning M. A leaky umbrella has little value: evidence clearly indicates the serotonin system is implicated in depression. 2023 [in press].