Antidepressant
Antidepressant, medication used to treat depression , a mood disorder characterized by such symptoms as sadness, decreased appetite, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, and a lack of enjoyment of activities previously found pleasurable. While everyone experiences episodes of sadness at some point in their lives, depression is distinguished from this sadness when symptoms are present most days for a period of at least two weeks. Antidepressants are often the first choice of treatment for depression. The first antidepressants, developed in the 1950s, are the tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) and the monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. TCAs block the reuptake of neurotransmitters into the presynaptic neurons, keeping the neurotransmitter in the synapse longer, and making more of the neurotransmitter available to the postsynaptic cell. TCAs include amitriptyline, doxepin, imipramine, nortriptyline, and desipramine. MAO inhibitors decrease the rate at which neurotransmitters are broken down by the