Tricyclic antidepressants: long-term treatment increases responsivity of rat forebrain neurons to serotonin.
Long-term treatment of rats with clinically effective tricyclic antidepressant drugs induced a selective increase in the inhibitory response of forebrain neurons to serotonin applied by microiontophoresis. Long-term administration of some related drugs which lack antidepressant efficacy failed to induce such a change. The enhanced response to serotonin induced by the clinically active tricyclic drugs took 1 to 2 weeks to develop, a time course which correlates with the delayed onset of therapeutic effects in humans.
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003655:Decerebrate State; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000187:drug effects*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000187:drug effects*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000494:pharmacology
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012701:Serotonin; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D009638:Norepinephrine