Antidepressant drugs

摘要

Depression: Antidepressants enhance transmission of one or more monoamines (Fig. 1, Box 1). Some have additional actions which may contribute towards their beneficial and/or undesirable effects (Table 1). Although increased monoamine transmission occurs within hours, the antidepressant effect is slower to appear because this requires normalization of receptor sensitivity and neuroplasticity. Many of the early-onset undesirable effects from antidepressant drugs are a consequence of enhanced monoamine transmission in the presence of receptors that have been upregulated to compensate for a relative monoamine deficit. As receptor sensitivity returns to normal, these undesirable effects generally resolve and beneficial effects begin to emerge.