Short Note: Serotonin
The neurotransmitter serotonin is a major player in depression, and it is being targeted by the Health and Human Services administration.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in mental health. It was first postulated that a lack of serotonin modulated mood and depression by Alec Coppen in the publication, The Biochemistry of Affective Disorders, in the journal, The British Journal of Psychiatry, in 1967. The paradigm gained widespread popularity with the adoption of Prozac in the early 1990s. In 2016, it was revealed that the gut played a major role in modulating depressive symptoms. EU workers transferred gut microbiota from depressed patients to rats that do not express depressive symptoms. The results were astonishing. The non-lethargic rats became lethargic and expressed what would otherwise be described as depressive symptoms (Kelly).
It is known that there is a gut-brain axis. The gut is often referred to as the second brain. It modulates how serotonin and other mood-altering brain chemicals affect human behavior. However, the regime has called into question whether SSRIs are effective. Not only have they questioned the SSRI paradigm, but Secretary Kennedy has gone as far as labeling drugs like Prozac dangerous. While Kennedy is not qualified to comment on the class of drugs, many individuals safely take these drugs. While the drugs are associated with suicides, Kennedy’s comments were nonsensical. Moreover, he has made the following claims: he has attributed violent behavior to SSRI use; he has attributed SSRI addiction to be similar to heroin addiction; and he suggests that psychedelics be substituted for SSRIs in the treatment of depression. The medical community is aghast at these proposals. Moreover, there is no evidence for any of RFKjr.’s claims (Soumerai).
The sheer incompetence of RFKjr. should leave anyone afraid for their health. When it comes to mental health, most deviations from accepted medical practices will leave people dead or permanently housed in a mental hospital. No sane person should accept that proposal. Whether Kennedy’s proposals are eventually adopted will depend on pushback from the medical community and the average voter.
Adding to these worries are the recent findings on serotonin. The neurotransmitters that impact mood are varied and more nuanced than first postulated. Recent findings implicate the human gut as a major player in depressive symptoms. Hung and colleagues found that the gut can selectively impair serotonin function by affecting how the brain uses serotonin. This finding reinforces the current paradigm. However, RFKjr. will most likely reinterpret it in a vastly different light.
It bears mentioning that a Mediterranean diet is shown to positively impact serotonin levels in many individuals (Picone). It is a true comfort food. However, the cutbacks to nutrition programs will also have deleterious effects on the average voter—only in America!
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Coppen, Alec. “The biochemistry of affective disorders.” The British Journal of Psychiatry 113.504 (1967): 1237-1264.
Hung, Lin Y., et al. “Intestinal epithelial serotonin as a novel target for treating disorders of gut-brain interaction and mood.” Gastroenterology 168.4 (2025): 754-768.
Jauhar S, Cowen PJ, Browning M. Fifty years on: Serotonin and depression. J Psychopharmacol. 2023 Mar;37(3):237-241. doi: 10.1177/02698811231161813. Epub 2023 Mar 20.
Kelly, John R., et al. “Transferring the blues: depression-associated gut microbiota induces neurobehavioural changes in the rat.” Journal of Psychiatric Research 82 (2016): 109-118.
Picone, Pasquale, et al. “Enriching the Mediterranean diet could nourish the brain more effectively.” Frontiers in Nutrition 11 (2024): 1489489.
Stephen B. Soumerai and Christine Y. Lu, “RFK Jr.’s war on antidepressants is coming — and it will cost lives.” Stat Newsletter, First Opinion, January 7, 2026 https://www.statnews.com/2026/01/07/rfk-jr-antidepressants-teenagers-warnings/