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Is this how antidepressants work, and why they take weeks to kick-in?
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1004014

^ ^ ^ Full press release about the study, no ads.
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Antidepressants can take weeks to work, and we finally know why
https://www.sciencealert.com/antidepress...y-know-why

EXCERPTS: It's been unclear why it takes so long – usually a few weeks – for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to achieve noticeable benefits.

[...] In the first human study of its kind, a global team measured physical changes in neuron connections (synapses) after SSRI treatment in healthy adults.

"We found that with those taking the SSRI, over time there was a gradual increase in synapses in the neocortex and the hippocampus of the brain," says neuroscientist Gitte Knudsen of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.

[...] "It indicates that SSRIs increase synaptic density in the brain areas critically involved in depression," Knudsen says. "This would go some way to indicating that the synaptic density in the brain may be involved in how these antidepressants function, which would give us a target for developing novel drugs against depression." (MORE - missing details)

Excellent research into the efficacy of antidepressants. I love the idea of having synapses for peacefulness being grown in my brain!


“We found that with those taking the SSRI, over time there was a gradual increase in synapses in the neocortex and the hippocampus of the brain, compared to those taking placebo. We did not see any effect in those taking placebo.

The neocortex takes up around half of the brain’s volume; it is a complex brain structure that deals with higher functions, such as sensory perception, emotion, and cognition. The hippocampus, which is found deep in the brain, functions with memory and learning.

Professor Knudsen continued, “This points towards two main conclusions. Firstly, it indicates that SSRIs increase synaptic density in the brain areas critically involved in depression. This would go some way to indicating that the synaptic density in the brain may be involved in how these antidepressants function, which would give us a target for developing novel drugs against depression. The second point is that our data suggest that synapses build up over a period of weeks, which would explain why the effects of these drugs take time to kick-in.

Commenting, Professor David Nutt (Imperial College, London) said “The delay in therapeutic action of antidepressants has been a puzzle to psychiatrists ever since they were first discerned over 50 years ago. So these new data in humans that uses cutting edge brain imaging to demonstrate an increase in brain connections developing over the period that the depression lifts are very exciting. Also they provide more evidence enhancing serotonin function in the brain can have enduring health benefits”."