Almost everyone in "Brave New World" took Soma, which erased feelings of unhappiness.
In the real world, the first link between depression and chemicals in the brain was established during 1951. A group of doctors on Staten Island in New York City observed sudden changes in the moods and behaviors of tuberculosis patients after the patients took a drug called iproniazid. The lethargic patients quickly became happy.
Three years later in North Carolina, some people experienced the opposite effects after being prescribed the drug Raudixin for blood pressure control. One patient attempted suicide after taking Raudixin, The New York Times reported.
As scientists came to better understood the connection between chemicals in the brain and depression, they discovered new drugs to help people.
Since then, millions of Americans have turned to antidepressants. Prozac was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1988 and became the third-most-common prescription drug in the US by 2008, according to The New York Times.