977 Antidepressant and Memory Consolidation—Goerke et al. INTRODUCTION Growing evidence suggests that there is a close association between sleep and memory consolidation.1–3 Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is thought to play a role in the memory consolidation process, particularly with regard to procedural memory—the memory of skills and habits.4–6 Many antidepressants, however, strongly suppres...

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. PFC neuronal activity is modulated by monoaminergic receptors for which antipsychotic drugs display moderate-high affinity, such as 5-HT(2A) and alpha(1)-adrenoceptors. Conversely, PFC pyramidal neurons project to and modulate the activity of raphe serotonergic neurons and serotonin (5-HT) release. Under the workin...

Compelling evidence has shown that the effects of antidepressants, increasing extracellular serotonin and noradrenaline as a primary mechanism of action, involve neuroplastic and neurotrophic mechanisms. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been shown to play a key role in neuroplasticity and synaptic function, as well as in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders and the mech...

The plasma membrane transporters that clear extracellular serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE), serotonin transporters (SERTs) and NE transporters (NETs), have received considerable attention over the past four decades because of their roles in amine neurotransmitter inactivation. In addition, they interact with many centrally active drugs, including multiple classes of antidepressants such...

The aim of the present study was to investigate effects of some classical and new antidepressants on functional activity of the glucocorticoid receceptor (GR) induced by low corticosterone concentration in mouse fibroblast cells stably transfected with mouse mammary tumor virus-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase plasmid (LMCAT cells). We found that the transcriptional activity of GR stimulated b...

Ursolic acid (UA) is a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid carboxylic acid that exerts antidepressant-like effects in the tail suspension test (TST) and in the forced swimming test, and this effect was reported to be mediated by the dopaminergic system. Many studies show that currently available antidepressant agents have effects on multiple neurotransmitter systems which account for their efficac...

Norepinephrine (NE) is thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of depression, and in the mechanism of action of antidepressant compounds. Previously, we created mice that are unable to synthesize NE and epinephrine due to targeted disruption of the dopamine-beta-hydroxylase gene (Dbh). To specifically test the role of NE in mediating behavioral changes elicited by antidepressan...

This study investigated the fungicidal activity of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) against clinical isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus (n = 11), Aspergillus flavus (n = 9), Aspergillus terreus (n = 10) and Candida parapsilosis (ATCC 22019). The common drugs fluoxetine, seroxate, sertraline, paroxetine and reboxetine were applied in a broth microdilution test. In addition, we exam...

Depression is a disabling condition resulting in significant impairment in social functioning, involving the patient's family, friends, work colleagues, and society at large. Although both psychologic and pharmacologic treatments generally improve many depressive symptoms, they do not always result in significant improvement in social functioning. The importance of recovery of social functionin...

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine are currently considered as first-line agents for patients with panic disorder (PD). However, a systematic comparison of newer antidepressants for the treatment of PD is lacking thus far. Eligible studies focusing on PD patients treated with newer antidepressants were entered in the Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager. Our primary outcom...