What is left over in the gap between the nerves is eaten up by an enzyme. A SSRI like Luvox or Prozac blocks or slows down the transport mechanism, leaving more serotonin in the gap. This causes an increase in production of the enzyme to eat it up. People feel more optimistic, and less depressed and prone to go out of control, with more serotonin in the receptors. If a person's brain cannot manufacture enough serotonin to keep up with the increased use and faster rate of enzymatic destruction, over time a person's serotonin levels can get critically low, and he explodes.
Mania is a psychosis which can produce bizarre, grandiose, highly elaborated destructive plans.
The way the brain makes a neurotransmitter is with a main building block or precursor and various vitamin co-factors. Ten years ago 15 million people were taking tryptophan supplements in the United States. Then a number of people got sick and died, all of whom were taking supplemental tryptophan. . . . It was traced to one contaminant in one batch from one manufacturer. Yet after tryptophan was proven not to be the culprit, the FDA refused to lift the ban.