Bipolar Today

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You may not recognize the name, but Maurice M. Rapport was among the discoverers of the neurotransmitter Seratonin, one of those who named it, and also was the first person to discover its molecular structure as 5-hydroxytryptamine. Discovering its structure allowed for the creation of numerous psychiatric drugs, because it can now be synthesized. The similarities between Setatonin and LSD led researchers to be increasingly interested in the effects that Seratonin had on mood, leading to drugs that manipulate as well as synthesize the transmitter. Maurice M. Rapport died on August 18th, 2011, in North Carolina. A full obituary for him can be found here

Commentary

It is difficult to underestimate the impact that Rapport’s research had on conceptions of mental illness. Before the discovery of Seratonin, mood was almost entirely analyzed in terms of psychoanalysis. In many ways, it was like the brain wasn’t even relevant. Seratonin and its effects on mood led to the “chemical imbalance” approach to mental illness. While this model is now considered simplistic, the basic premise that defective transmitters account for many mental illnesses remains. It paved the way for the introduction of psychopharmacology, something that it almost impossible to imagine psychiatry without at this point.

Curiously, Rapport wasn’t even looking for mood transmitters at the time. He was interested in blood pressure. It was only when the accidental similarities with LSD were found that interest in seratonin’s effects on mood arose. It is fascinating when major discoveries are partially accidental.

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