With my degree finally finished I'd like to go through a topic that has only been covered by one lecture in my whole degree, but one that has always interested me. Why does it take so long for antidepressants to take effect? They increase levels of a brain chemical (or a neurotransmitter as we call them in neuroscience) called serotonin within a very short period of time, but it can take up to 12 weeks before there is any improvement in symptoms of patients with depression. Well finally I have heard an idea about why that might be. But first, you need to know a little bit about depression and the drugs that we use to treat it. Clinical depression is a condition in which the patient suffers from incredibly low mood, loss of enthusiasm and they have a generally horrible time. I'm sure most of you have a fairly decent idea of what depression is like, maybe you know someone or are someone who has suffered from it, or is suffering from it now. The generally accepted idea behi
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