Neurotransmisserification

The act of reducing any mental state, emotion, or behavior to the action of specific neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, glutamate). It treats complex psychological phenomena as mere chemical balances: depression is low serotonin, anxiety is high norepinephrine, love is oxytocin. Neurotransmisserification is common in pharmaceutical marketing and reductionist science writing. Critics note that neurotransmitters have multiple functions, their effects depend on receptor subtypes and brain region, and the same chemical can produce opposite effects in different contexts. It is a form of chemical reductionism that ignores the whole person.

Neurotransmisserification Example: “The ad for antidepressants relied on neurotransmisserification: ‘Depression is a chemical imbalance.’ The fine print admitted that this is a hypothesis, not a fact. But the damage was done.”

Neurotransmisserification by Abzugal June 5, 2026