shirgall Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-antidepressants-brain-structure-20140918-story.html ... Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, used a magnetic resonance imaging machine to compare connections in the gray matter of those who took SSRIs and those who did not. They were particularly interested in what goes on when the brain is doing nothing in particular. “We just tell them to let their minds wander and not think of anything particularly dramatic or upsetting,” said neuroscientist Dr. Julia Sacher, a co-author of the study published online Thursday in the journal Current Biology. They created 3-D maps of connections that “matter” to gray matter: interdependence, not just anatomical connection. They relied on a discovery in the late 1990s that low-frequency brain signaling during relative inactivity, such as daydreaming, is a good indicator of functional connectivity. When more serotonin was available, this resting state functional connectivity decreased on a broad scale, the study found. This finding was not particularly surprising -- other studies have shown a similar effect in brain regions strongly associated with mood regulation. But there was a two-fold shock: Some areas of the brain appeared to buck the trend and become more interdependent. And all the changes were evident only three hours after the single dosage. ... 1
giancoli Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 scary stuff, glad I stopped after one week on them. I felt like a zombie....better to be sad than to feel nothing at all.... 1
antilex Posted June 4, 2016 Posted June 4, 2016 Antidepressants are very serious drugs, and it's surprising that they are handed out to almost anyone with little consideration for their effects. They are given to children and young teens whose brains are still developing. That is quite harmful and the brain can be tangibly altered, as the article says. The brain is not a thing to play with. It is the most complex organ in nature, and we know very little about it. Don't flood it with drugs for a problem that is more effectively solved with talk therapy. I think this is one of the scariest trends in the modern world. I used to have issues with depression and docs tried to get me on 2 different kinds of antidepressants. The first one made me manic and curbed my appetite so much I lost a dangerous amount of weight. The second one seemed fine at first, but after a few months I developed tinnitus (ringing in the ears) which can happen very often with a certain kind of antidepressants. Sadly, the damage was permanent and I will probably have tinnitus for the rest of my life. Some people have gotten hearing loss, and good luck getting any compensation from pharma companies if you get a disability from their medicine! I am SO grateful that I found healthier ways to overcome my depression, like therapy and exercise. Now, I live a much better life and it horrifies me to think what would have happened if I had kept taking the drugs. DON'T take antidepressants unless you have exhausted absolutely everything else and your life is on the line. Don't listen to the docs who will surely try to push it as an easy solution. There are many healthier and more sustainable ways to feel better. 3
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