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Powered by philosophic argument, scientific evidence, and multibillion dollar pharmaceutical companies sponsoring multimillion dollar advertising campaigns, the chemical imbalance hypothesis has saturated our academic and popular culture. This saturation is, at least partially, responsible for the more than 10 billion dollars annually spent on antidepressant medication in the United States. But what is the "chemical imbalance" hypothesis? And what evidence supports it? This article will provide an account of the chemical imbalance hypothesis, a history of its development, and the evidence provided for its justification. This article will show that the evidence for the chemical imbalance hypothesis is unconvincing. It will discuss why, despite the unconvincing evidence, the hypothesis lingers. And, finally, it will suggest an alternative approach to mental illness that avoids some of the pitfalls of a biological reductionistic account of mind.
Keywords: depression; antidepressants; chemical imbalance; reductionism
In 2006, 80% of Americans agreed with the claim that a "chemical imbalance" within the brain is a cause of depression. This figure of 80% was a more than 10-point increase over the past 10 years (Lebowitz, Ahn, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2013). Powered by philosophic argument, scientific evidence, and multibillion dollar pharmaceutical companies sponsoring multimillion dollar advertising campaigns, the chemical imbalance hypothesis has saturated our academic and popular culture (Park & Ahn, 2013). This saturation is, at least partially, responsible for more than 10 billion dollars annually spent on antidepressant medication in the United States. But what is the chemical imbalance hypothesis? And what evidence supports it? This article will provide an account of the chemical imbalance hypothesis, a history of its development, and the evidence provided for its justification. It will show that the evidence for the chemical imbalance hypothesis is unconvincing. And it will discuss why, despite the unconvincing evidence, the hypothesis lingers. Finally, it will suggest an alternative approach to mental illness that avoids some of the pitfalls of a biological, reductionistic account of mind.
WHAT IS THE CHEMICAL IMBALANCE HYPOTHESIS OF DEPRESSION?
The chemical imbalance hypothesis of depression is the theory that individuals diagnosed with depression experience their depression because of disordered brain function. The brain is responsible for regulating an enormous amount of function and behavior. An essential element involved in this process is the transmission of signals throughout...