More than two in five of those surveyed say they believe depression is a sign of personal weakness. There is some reason for hope. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood. It conveys signals among nerve cells in the brain. These cells regulate sleep, memory and aggressive behavior.
Doctors describe it as the brake on our reckless tendencies.
J. John Mann, director of the Mental Health Clinical Research Center for the Study of Suicidal Behavior in New York, has been involved in several studies finding that people who lack serotonin are more likely to be aggressive and impulsive. These people also could be at a higher risk for depression. It follows, then, that those who lack the proper level of serotonin may lack the ability to inhibit the desire to kill themselves, Mann notes. Researchers now think a person may be born with certain biological risks for suicide. In an article on the neurobiology of suicide written for the January 1998 issue of Nature Medicine magazine, Mann reports that researchers found defective neurons in the brains of suicide victims.