Question: Do you think that we are all individualised by our brain chemistry? seeing as many of our chemical processes happen in the same way, how can we all seem to function differently? Also do you believe that our individual personalities are affected by the way the brain chemistry works, as in it could be finalised before birth?

Jen Todd Jones answered on 11 Mar 2013:

I love this kind of question! Brain chemistry is a hot topic in neuroscience and psychology since for a long while it was believed that mental health problems could be related to brain chemistry. The chemistry of the brain is delicately balanced and while the processes themselves are the same across people, the proportion of chemicals in the brain can change.

Happiness, for example, is associated with levels of serotonin and dopamine (two chemicals) in the brain – if these levels are lower on one person than another, they may suffer from low mood and be unhappy, this can contribute to them developing something like depression – long-term very low mood.