RIP Chester Bennington

[Lune]

Originally Posted by loramin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Is there something wrong with people who studied biology in college for four years, then studied neurobiology in particular for 3+ years, then made a career out of studying nerobiology? And what exactly is your comprehensive neurobiology background that allows you to so easily refute their work, despite (presumably) never having read any of their published papers?

I'm not refuting their work. Their publication is in finding altered serotinin levels in cases of death by suicide, which I find interesting. What I do take issue with is their manner of speculation in the NPR interview about the altered serotinin levels being "faulty" (read: pathological) rather than different, and their overreaching characterization of the role of serotinin in human physiology.

As neuroscientists they are qualified to examine the differences in serotinin in the different tissues and make physiological postulations regarding that. What they are not qualified to do is create a clinical paradigm for the serotonergic system that still lacks understanding even among scientists who study it specifically from an internal medicine and endocrinology perspective.

There could be any number of causes for the different serotinin levels and their publication elucidates exactly none of them. It could very well be that the emotional trauma leading up to suicide causes an accumulation of serotonin, rather than it being a chronic presentation throughout the disease-course in a suicidal individual. I'm just very wary of assigning cause in publications like these especially when the authors don't do it explicitly themselves in the publication.