Review That Challenged Serotonin Depression Theory Was Wrong, Researchers Say

A group of scientists have said that a study concluding that there was no consistent evidence for a relationship between serotonin and depression was biased and seriously flawed.1

Last July, an umbrella systematic review, published in Molecular psychiatryconcluded “there is no convincing evidence that depression is associated with or caused by decreased levels or activity of serotonin” and questioned the reasons for the high rates of antidepressant prescription.23

Writing in the same journal, 36 researchers criticized the article saying there were methodological weaknesses in the review process, selective reporting of data, oversimplification and errors in the interpretation of neuropsychopharmacological results.

Lead author of the commentary, Sameer Jauhar, Clinical Lecturer in Affective Disorders and Psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, …