Transmitter substances - Dopamine and Serotonin

Gliese123

I made a test for transmitter substances. Where the substances: Serotonin and Dopamine were compared. You probably heard about that you can do tests to see which one of the substances you've most of. And I got 86% on the Serotonin and only 14% of Dopamine. And I read about the different effects these substances have on the human body, I thought it was very correct on how I feel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine
Crackpot link removed

They question is: Do you think the levels of the different neurotransmitter substances determine how you actually feel? And can they affect how you feel in a large proportion? (Because I really do think it's something with it)..

Ryan_m_b

How did you do this test do determine the ratio of serotonin to dopamine? I've never heard of such a test, in fact I'm under the impression that testing for quantities of neurotransmitter is extremely difficult.

Also please be more careful where you get your information from. Your last link has been removed because it linked to the website of a crackpot "alternative medicine" clinic which advertised the fact that they can cure pretty much anything including "Spiritual Equilibrium" using "nutritional supplementation, herbal medicine, homeopathy, detoxification, neurotransmitter and hormone balancing."

Gliese123

Yeah, okay sorry. I didn't recognize it very well. :) I'm not a native english speaker. But, I did the test (in Swedish) in school and I got the highest differencies between these substances and one other at home. Later, I saw that the personalities of these substances was very decisive of how I felt. My friend had the opposite results on the test, with very high dopamine results. He feel the characteristic things of what lack of serotonin cause. While I don't have any of that "problems" as lack of serotonin describes. I just think this is weird?

Ryan_m_b

If you did this at school then I really question how good your school is. Are you saying you did a written test??? That would be nonsense I'm afraid. You cannot tell the quantities of neurotransmitter without doing a biopsy of some kind. In fact if I remember correctly there is no direct way to measure quantities of neurotransmitters in a patients brain.

Gliese123

Well, my school it's very different from the American "High School" as I have to describe as my current education, but I don't think this is nonsense. It might sound like nonsense but I just speculate. There is a indication of these substances have different affects on the human body, and it's mentioned in a such of big range around the internet, so it has to be something, rather than nonsense? By the way, thank you for bother ;)

Ryan_m_b

I am not American. Please post information about this test because I am highly sceptical. The test for dopamine is a blood test that looks for various catecholamines IIRC, there is no such written test though things like this are very popular with alternative medicine in the same way that personality, tarot and other non-scientific fields. Remember that the fact there is something on the internet means nothing, there are literally thousands of websites for homeopathy but that gives it no credibility.

mishrashubham

It is probably one of those games that children play. You know, about finding out the percentage character of some cartoon or movie star etc.

Was it an official written school test? What Ryan calls nonsense is the notion that one can find out the amount of neurotransmitter in one's body by a test of such kind; not that neurotransmitters have an effect on emotion.

Gliese123

Thank you. But have you read the wikipedia links of what influence they've on mental health, which I assume would be impartial for that matter. It's nothing I've just come up with.. -_- And not emotions for that matter, but how you feel. Enthusiasm, motivation, temper e.t.c

Ryan_m_b

Read what Mishrashubham has said;
I know that neurotransmitters affect emotion however what I am saying is that the idea of a written test to quantify them is nonsense. I am not trying to insult you here, just point out the fallacy of such a test.

mishrashubham

We know. What we need is information about the test that you took.

Gliese123

I don't have it with me, but the questions was "the one or the other" questions and yes/now questions of for example: "Do you feel mostly unmotivated to force yourself into different tasks?" And much more.

bobze

Ryan is right, it is almost impossible to quantify (accurately) SER and D levels, let alone based on a written test. Even a blood test would be extremely in accurate because of MAOs and COMTs. Both SER and D have very short biological half-lives (think about it from your body's standpoint, you don't want NTs hanging around a long time).

Further, the "blood levels" of these NTs would not be an accurate way to asses for "personality" based on them. While that may sound logical to someone not well schooled in biology, its is only the affect at the synapse which matters--Not the amount circulating.

This is treating things like depression, requires MAOIs and reuptake inhibitors and we can't simply give you oral or IA SER or D.

Gliese123

Okay. Thank you very much. :-)

Gliese123

But, do you guys imagine this substances react in a muscular cell? Then of course it can't circulate into the blood and make any influence on the brain, because that's not what I meant. I was speculating about the braincells which clearly has some effect on the synapses in the brain, which would change the cemestry that e.t.c.. For example, endorphins can't be denied to have no influence on the human body and brain, why don't dopamine and serotonin? You can't deny that a junkie take crack because it doesn't have any affect on the human brain? Dopamine and serotonin secretes like endorphins. And these does different things with the brain. Rigtht?

Ryan_m_b

No one is saying that dopamine and serotonin don't have an effect. What we are saying is that quantitative testing cannot be done by a written test because behavioural effects do allow one to directly infer neurotransmitter concentration.

Gliese123

Okay, thank you for understanding my statement, but the real significant thing about the thread was what effects dopamine and serotonin have, and how notable natural deficiency or excess could be seen and what's causes it. Of course a writing test can't determinate if I have any "lack" of anything but rather point out a "diraction". The writing test wasn't any particular, it's the concrete thing what this substances can cause. And are there any big differences between these, which would cause characteristic features? :)