Conventional antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants can successfully treat depression by increasing dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels in the brain. Still, they have many side effects, and people can develop resistance to them. Enter the humble matcha tea as a safe, natural alternative. Although there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that drinking matcha tea improves mood, there have been no scientific studies exploring its antidepressant properties. Researchers from Kumamoto University in Japan had previously found that Matcha tea improved anxiety levels in healthy mice by activating dopamine D1 receptors. Now, they wanted to look more closely at the effect of the tea on the brain's circuitry.