Specific types of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can enhance cell growth within brain regions necessary for nervous system development.

A study done by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that SSRIs were able to improve the density of brain cells in both the frontal and parietal lobes of mice subjects. SSRIs also enhanced cells in parts of the limbic region that influence smell, emotions, motivations and reflexive organs such as the heart, stomach and intestines. This allowed for increased nerve density within these regions, augmenting transmission of vital signals within the brain.

The research will appear in the January issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry.

It was previously believed that the effectiveness of antidepressants relied on the improved transfer rates of brain chemicals serotonin and norepinephrine. But recent findings show that SSRIs' efficiency is actually contingent on the enhanced density of brain cells. The increased density allows for a rewiring of the areas of the brain that control the nervous system.

Vassilis E. Koliatsos, M.D., the lead author of the study, believes that the research provides the reasoning behind the previously unidentified cause of the delayed efficiency of antidepressants.

"But our findings - that serotonin reuptake modulators increase the density of nerve synapses, especially in the front part of the brain - may offer a better explanation of why antidepressants are effective, and why they take time to work."

SSRIs are found in many common antidepressants, including Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft.

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