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Brain research sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of depression:
Researchers of the national Turku PET Centre have shown that the opioid system in the brain is connected to mood changes associated with depression and anxiety.
Depression and anxiety are typically associated with lowered mood and decreased experience of pleasure. Opioids regulate the feelings of pain and pleasure in the brain. The new study conducted in Turku shows that the symptoms associated with depression and anxiety are connected to changes in the brain's opioid system already in healthy individuals.
- We found that the more depressive and anxious symptoms the subjects had, the less opioid receptors there were in their brain.
[...] These results show that the mood changes indicating depression can be detected in the brain already early on.
Journal Reference:
Lauri Nummenmaa, Tomi Karjalainen, Janne Isojärvi, et al. Lowered endogenous mu-opioid receptor availability in subclinical depression and anxiety, Neuropsychopharmacology (DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-0725-9)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Immerman on Friday June 19 2020, @01:45PM
Seems a fair chance that wouldn't work so well - fewer receptors means slower processing of neurotransmitters. A larger dose might just have the same effect over a longer period, if the opioid receptors are already fully stimulated at the lower dose.