NEXT time a sentimental movie makes you cry, blame your serotonin levels. Differences in the neurotransmitter might explain why some people are more prone to crying in emotional situations than others.
Frederick van der Veen鈥檚 team at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, gave 25 female volunteers a single dose of either paroxetine 鈥� a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) which briefly increases serotonin levels 鈥� or a placebo. Four hours later they were asked to watch one of two emotional movies: , in which the hero dies of cancer, or , about domestic violence, and to indicate if, and to what extent certain scenes had made them cry.
On another day, the women watched the second film with their treatments swapped over. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 matter which movie they saw, we saw a strong and consistent effect of paroxetine,鈥� says van der Veen, who presented the results at the in Amsterdam last week. 鈥淗igher serotonin levels lead to less crying.鈥�
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Although SSRIs are used to treat depression, their mood-boosting effects do not normally show up for around six weeks. The women reported no change in mood in the current study. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at the direct effect of a single dose of paroxetine,鈥� says van der Veen, who adds that the findings might help explain why .
鈥淥ur understanding of the neurobiology of crying is fairly limited,鈥� says Christopher Lowry, a serotonin researcher at the University of Boulder in Colorado. 鈥淚t makes sense that it is tapping into circuitry involving serotonin.鈥�
Van der Veen now wants to find out whether genetic differences in serotonin production affect the tendency to cry.
