We all know that serotonin is made in the gut and tryptophan, the precursor to serotonin is high in quinoa, soy, fish, eggs and leafy greens. Now research shows that neuro modulators like serotonin can impact our decision making process.There are times when we make quick decisions, and times when we are not able to make up our minds. Well, we can now blame a few chemicals in our brains for the speed of decisions. Researchers at Virginia Tech intended to understand how neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, typically linked to emotions, might influence our perception of the world and our quick decision-making abilities. If dopamine and serotonin indeed affect how we perceive and decide in split seconds, it could significantly shape future treatments for various neurological and psychiatric disorders.
The research was conducted on five patients who were undergoing surgery for conditions like essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease. These patients were awake during the surgery, and the measurements of dopamine and serotonin activity in their brains were taken while playing a computer game designed to measure aspects of their thinking and behaviour.
“These neuromodulators play a much broader role in supporting human behaviour and thought, and in particular they are involved in how we process the outside world,” said Dan Bang, co-author, and a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow, and Steve Fleming. “For example, if you move through a room and the lights are off, you move differently because you’re uncertain about where objects are. Our work suggests these neuromodulators — serotonin in particular — are playing a role in signaling how uncertain we are about the outside environment.”
The research advises:
- The study revealed that these neuromodulators influence how we interpret our surroundings and make quick decisions.
- The research found that dopamine and serotonin impact our perception and decision-making processes at sub-second speeds, indicating their involvement in integrating our perception of the world with our actions.
- Neurotransmitters have a much broader impact on cognition than previously thought. Their involvement in the immediate interpretation of information and decision-making implies potential implications for treatments targeting various neurological and psychiatric disorders where these cognitive processes are altered.
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