Childhood Depression and the Brain: Neurotransmitters

I’d like to talk about how the brains of children who suffer from depression are different.  First I’ll talk about neurons and neurotransmitters.  It may sound complicated but it’s not.  I’m going to be as basic as I can be because I understand most people haven’t taken a neuroscience class.         

The brain is full of neurons.  They are nerve cells that communicate with each other using something called neurotransmitters.  Neurotransmitters are the chemical messages sent to all the different parts of the brain.  They help the brain function and affect how we feel.  The neurotransmitters associated the most with mood, emotions and depression are serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.    

An electrical surge is sent to a neuron and that surge tells the neuron to release neurotransmitters.  Neurons are very close to each other in the brain but they do not touch.  There is a gap between neurons.  This gap is called the synapse. 

When a neurotransmitter like serotonin is released into the synapse.  It swims across the synapse and binds with the receptor sites on the next neuron.  The receptor sites are like locked doors and each door has keyholes.  Neurotransmitters are the keys. 

Certain keys only fit certain locks.  The seratonin keys only fit the seratonin locks.  The seratonin keys tell the neurons they bind with to release an electrical surge to tell other neurons to release neurotransmitters and it keeps doing this throughout the brain with seratonin and all the other neurotransmitters.  Once the seratonin keys swim across the synapse, they fit into the seratonin locks, then the neuron that released the seratonin sucks up any extra remaining seratonin left in the synapse. 

The theory is, in depressed people the seratonin keys don’t swim fast enough to reach the locks or receptor sites in the next neuron.  The seratonin keys don’t have enough time to reach the seratonin locks before they get sucked back up into the neuron that released them.  What antidepressants called SSRIs do is stop the re-uptake or the sucking-up action of the seratonin left in the synapse.

Since the sucking-up action or re-uptake is stopped, the serotonin keys have enough time to swim across the synapse and reach and bind to the seratonin locks on the next neuron.  This helps the person feel less depressed and more normal.  This is a very simplistic explanation but I’m going to be talking about neurotransmitters in my next few posts as I write about different parts of the brain that affect depression or are affected by depression.

I also wanted to briefly discuss something called the MTHFR genetic mutation.  Most every woman has heard of folic acid also known as folate.  It’s vitamin B12.  The brain needs vitamin B12 in order to make serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine but B12 isn’t able to cross something called the blood brain barrier.  The brain is protected by this barrier.  It keeps out bad chemicals that can hurt the brain but it can also keep out good chemicals that the brain needs. 

In order for B12 also known as folate to cross the blood brain barrier the body has to transform it into methyl folate.  In normal people the methyl folate crosses the blood brain barrier and the brain uses it to help produce neurotransmitters but some people like me have the MTHFR genetic mutation.  The mutation causes the body to have a hard time transforming folate into methyl folate.  Therefor the brain has a harder time producing neurotransmitters. 

A person who has this mutation can suffer from depression because the brain doesn’t have enough methyl folate to make a normal amount of neurotransmitters.  A prescription medical food called L-methyl folate can help people with this genetic mutation produce a more normal amount of neurotransmitters and it can help some people who suffer from depression.  It has actually helped me a lot.  Thanks for your time.