Talk:Antidepressant

An antidepressant is a type of psychiatric drug used for treating major depressive disorder (unipolar depression). It is worth noting that many of these agents are not effective for bipolar disorder-associated depression and that antipsychotics such as lurasidone (Latuda) and quetiapine (Seroquel) are used for this purpose.

Types of antidepressants

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are believed to increase the level of extracellular serotonin, therefore allowing more serotonin to be in the brain. The reason SSRIs are used for depression is because

Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs)

NRIs are believed to increase the level of extracellular norepinephrine, therefore allowing more of it to be in the brain. Controversy has been sparked over the effectiveness of reboxetine, an NRI sold as Trintellix.

Norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs)

NDRIs are believed to increase the level of extracellular norepinephrine and dopamine, therefore allowing more of these to be in the brain. Agents such as bupropion (Wellbutrin) have been found effective for MDD with little direct effect on serotonin, and therefore it can be hypothesized that other agents are effective for it. Bupropion and other NDRIs are also effective for depression with fatigue or sleepiness.