The Association of Salivary Serotonin With Mood and Cardio-Autonomic Function: A Preliminary Report

Michał Seweryn Karbownik; Steven Daniel Hicks

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.788153

The Association of Salivary Serotonin With Mood and Cardio-Autonomic Function: A Preliminary Report

Front Psychiatry. 2022 May 31:13:788153. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.788153. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Michał Seweryn Karbownik¹, Steven Daniel Hicks²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland.
² Division of Academic General Pediatrics, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States.

Abstract

Background: Serotonin plays an important role in mood regulation and depression. However, it is not clear whether the levels of serotonin in saliva are related to current mood.

Aim: To test the association of salivary serotonin concentrations with mood, as well as cardiovascular and autonomic parameters.

Materials and methods: Saliva samples were obtained from collegiate runners and output parameters were examined before and after physical activity.

Results: Salivary serotonin concentration was negatively associated with current mood (β = -0.32, 95%CI -0.62 to -0.02, p = 0.037, analysis adjusted for potential confounders), but insignificantly with measured cardiovascular and autonomic parameters.

Conclusions: Salivary serotonin may reflect current mood. The results are preliminary and require further evaluation.

Keywords: association; depression; mood; salivary biomarkers; serotonin.