A role for the serotonin system in the mechanism of action of antidepressant treatments: preclinical evidence.
The electrophysiologic assessment of the action of different types of antidepressant treatments on the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) system revealed as a common effect an enhancement of 5-HT neurotransmission, albeit each treatment achieved this result via a different mechanism. Tricyclic antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive shock treatment sensitize postsynaptic neurons to 5-HT. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors enhance the availability of releasable 5-HT. Serotonin reuptake blockers increase the efficacy of 5-HT neurons by desensitizing 5-HT autoreceptors located on 5-HT nerve terminals. Serotonin1A receptor agonists would enhance the tonic activation of postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors. Such results suggest that this effect of antidepressant treatments on the 5-HT system might be intimately related to their therapeutic effect in major depression.
Blier
P
P
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
de Montigny
C
C
Chaput
Y
Y
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D014179:Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology
D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D014179:Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D012701:Serotonin