Hello
Few days ago I read that scientists have finally figured why antidepressants take weeks to start showing their effects. According to the study SSRI’s increase the synaptic density and many more things which I didnt understand. I am curious to know what this study tells because I was a SSRI user for 2 years and am excited to know what this study tells.
[https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/why-antidepressants-may-take-weeks-to-show-benefits/](https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/why-antidepressants-may-take-weeks-to-show-benefits/)
[https://scitechdaily.com/brain-plasticity-ssris-breakthrough-on-how-antidepressants-work-why-they-take-weeks-to-kick-in/](https://scitechdaily.com/brain-plasticity-ssris-breakthrough-on-how-antidepressants-work-why-they-take-weeks-to-kick-in/)
Peer reviewed study – [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02285-8](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02285-8)
Thank you
In: 12
Neuroscientist here.
Short answer is that we do not know. Furthermore, we don’t really know how SSRIs work. We know what they do, but how that translates into relief from depression we don’t really know. Mostly because we don’t really know much about pathophysiology of depression.
There is a lot of interest in rapid-acting antidepressants, with drugs like ketamine, MDMA (ecstasy) and, potentially, psilocybin (active ingredient in magic mushrooms) being in various stages of research/usage. Ketamine (esketamine specifically) was approved for treatment-resistant depression in 2019.
All these drugs, from psychedelics to SSRIs affect neurotransmitters, but the truth of how these changes actually translate into clinical effect still remains unknown.
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