Feel-good formula? Still fuzzy logic

The brain works like a radio transmitter which sends out electrical wavesignals. It continues to send out these signals for as long as 37 hours afterdeath. Serotonin, a chemical manufactured by the brain, is amessenger (neurotransmitter) involved in the transmission of signals betweennerve cells. It is also a chemical that helps maintain a "happy feeling".Youshould continue to "feel happy" till 37 hours after death. Unless of course youare one of those unfortunates who suffers from serotonindeficiency.Whatever psychics might say about those hours afterdeath, psychiatrists admit they know very little about the biochemics of happyliving. Alok Sarin, consultant psychiatrist at Vimhans, Delhi isquite clear: "Neuroscience may have developed the ability to block, to a certainextent, unhealthy changes in mood or thought. This does not mean we understandthe bio-chemistry of happiness. Happiness is not just about chemicals in thebrain and doctors accept this." Ruchi Sharma (name changed) explainsthe truth of this statement. "For years, obsessive compulsive disorder ruled allmy waking hours — often intruding into my dreams — to such an extentthat happiness seemed an impossibility. That was when I felt ''If only, for amoment, I could be free of these thoughts, I''d be happy.'' Now, there aremedicines which help with OCD symptoms to such an extent that I''m free oftroubled thoughts for long stretches. Does this mean I''m always happy? Not by along shot. But yes, now I''m more or less as capable of being happy as anyoneelse without OCD."True, research does say that when the brainproduces serotonin, tension is eased and that low serotonin levels could be thereason for many cases of mild to moderate depression. It also showsthat when the brain produces dopamine or norepinephrine, you tend to think andact more quickly and are generally more alert.None of thisnecessarily translates into the assumption that supplements which activate theseneurotransmitters guarantee happiness. For instance, food and sexrelease "feel-good" chemicals, in particular dopamine. So do nicotine andalcohol. In that case, should you eat, drink, smoke and have sex all the time tobe happy?Then again, relaxation produces norepinephrine and exercisehas been shown to produce endorphins, which are said to help with depression,anxiety, sleep. Common sense tells you that a balance of exercise and relaxationwill keep you healthy and, therefore, more capable of beinghappy.Writing about the role of research in man''s on-going searchfor happiness, Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist Gerald Edelman says: "Sciencecannot fully account for happiness.... We have, however, already accomplished agreat deal by disposing of baseless assumptions — that there is a gene forhappiness, that there is a happiness centre in the brain, or that this complexconscious and emotional state is a specific property of particular nerve cells.Like the consciousness on which it depends, happiness is a process, not athing."