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A Matter of Chemistry

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Book cover Unhappiness, Sadness and 'Depression'

Abstract

This chapter discusses how, when antidepressants were discovered, neurotransmitters and the mechanism of neurotransmission in the brain were also being discovered. In the laboratory, experimental models in vitro showed that tricyclic antidepressants inhibited the synaptic reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin . This finding gave origin to the seductive theory that depression was the result of a chemical unbalance, with reduced concentrations of the neurotransmitters in the brain synapses, which were corrected by the drug. With the introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac the theory was refocused specifically on serotonin. Yet no direct evidence has ever been provided regarding in vivo conditions in real patients. Additionally, clinical evidence such as the latency of the response and the lack of activity in about one-third of patients treated remains unexplained.

A specialist is a man who knows more and more about less and less.

William J. Mayo

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  1. University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

    Tullio Giraldi

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  1. Tullio Giraldi
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Giraldi, T. (2017). A Matter of Chemistry. In: Unhappiness, Sadness and 'Depression'. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57657-2_9

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