Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35854107›Full record

SynthesisMolecular psychiatry2023

The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence.

Joanna Moncrieff, Ruth E Cooper, Tom Stockmann, Simone Amendola, Michael P Hengartner, Mark A Horowitz

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Molecular psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 372 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
372citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
52.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

372 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 837 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Cortical 5-HTMolecular psychiatry · 2025
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  12. Trial
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312 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Joanna MoncrieffDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK. j.moncrieff@ucl.ac.uk.
Ruth E CooperFaculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, UK.
Tom StockmannPsychiatry-UK, Cornwall, UK.
Simone AmendolaDepartment of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Michael P HengartnerDepartment of Applied Psychology, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.
Mark A HorowitzDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
Cornwall Council · GBGoodmayes Hospital · GBSapienza University of Rome · ITUniversity College London · GBUniversity of Greenwich · GBZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The serotonin hypothesis of depression is still influential. We aimed to synthesise and evaluate evidence on whether depression is associated with lowered serotonin concentration or activity in a systematic umbrella review of the principal relevant areas of research. PubMed, EMBASE and PsycINFO were searched using terms appropriate to each area of research, from their inception until December 2020. Systematic reviews, meta-analyses and large data-set analyses in the following areas were identified: serotonin and serotonin metabolite, 5-HIAA, concentrations in body fluids; serotonin 5-HT

Indexed as

DepressionSerotoninAntidepressive AgentsHumansHydroxyindoleacetic AcidReceptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1ASerotonin Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsTryptophanAntidepressive AgentsHydroxyindoleacetic AcidReceptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1ASerotoninSerotonin Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsTryptophan

Identifiers

PMID35854107
PMCPMC10618090
OpenAlexW4285891880

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.