This helps explian why something like 5-HTP, which is a serotonin
precursor helps with both ADD and depression
Gmar vChatima Tova
Nachum

Women more depressed and men more impulsive with reduced serotonin
functioning
18-Sep-2007

Women and men appear to respond differently to the same biochemical
manipulation.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental
disorders, and it is also one of the most studied. It is already
known that reduced serotonin transmission contributes to the
pathophysiology, or functional changes, associated with MDD and most
of today's most popular antidepressants block the serotonin "uptake
site", also known as the transporter, in the brain. It is also known
that people with MDD are frequently found to have impaired impulse
control. A new study being published in the September 15th issue of
Biological Psychiatry now reports on important sex and genetic
differences in the way that men and women react to reductions in
serotonin function, specifically in terms of their mood and
impulsivity.

Using a technique in healthy participants called acute tryptophan
depletion, which decreases serotonin levels in the brain, Walderhaug
and colleagues found that men became more impulsive, but did not
experience any mood changes in response to the induced chemical
changes. However, women in this study reported a worsening of their
mood and they became more cautious, a response commonly associated
with depression. The researchers also discovered that the mood
lowering effect in women was influenced by variation in the promotor
region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR).

One of the study's authors, Dr. Espen Walderhaug, explains, "We were
surprised to find such a clear sex difference, as men and women
normally experience the same effect when the brain chemistry is
changed? Although we have the same serotonergic system in the brain,
it is possible that men and women utilize serotonin differently."

These findings highlight the complexity of studying and treating
these disorders, as the interactive effects of gender and genetic
coding impacted the outcomes in the men and women when their
serotonergic functions were disrupted. Dr. Walderhaug comments that
their study's findings "might be relevant in understanding why women
show a higher prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders compared to
men, while men show a higher prevalence of alcoholism, ADHD and
impulse control disorders." John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of
Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School
of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, adds that the
response patterns that have emerged in these findings are "the
beginnings of an understanding for these sex-related effects."
Ultimately, it is hoped that these findings further advance the
ability to quickly and more accurately treat patients.

http://www.elsevier.com/