BIOL122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Birth Weight, Central Nervous System Depression, Alcoholic Liver Disease
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Ssri"s (cid:449)ork o(cid:374) the theory that depressio(cid:374) is (cid:272)aused (cid:271)y low levels of 5-ht (serotonin) at the postsynaptic neuron. Ssri"s i(cid:374)hi(cid:271)it the reuptake of 5-ht (serotonin) at the postsynaptic neuron. Thus 5-ht (serotonin) stays around and has longer to cause its mood elevating effects. It does this by taking up all of the seats on the carrier molecules that would normally take 5-ht (serotonin) back to the presynaptic neuron. Has a delayed onset of action (may take weeks). This means it can be support must be given to those suffering the effects of depression before the drugs kick in. Increased risk of suicide (potentially due to its taking a while to reach a therapeutic level) Maois (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) when used in conjunction it may result in 5-ht (serotonin) having a too powerful effect ultimately resulting in serotonin syndrome. Similar to ssri"s but instead of specifically preventing the reuptake of 5-
