19.01.9 Long Term Adaptive Changes with Antidepressants

The net effect of chronic treatment with antidepressant drugs is enhancement of monoaminergic function. Irrespective of the underlying transmitter imbalance (which remains to be well characterized), it seems antidepressant drugs optimize monoamine levels by facilitating release and restore receptor sensitivities to normal or permit preferred receptor actions. Increasing monoamine levels may be the first step, creating a complex sequelae of cellular and molecular changes. The time course of these long term adaptive changes is paralleled by mood changes.