Common Antidepressant Drug May Alter Brain Structure, Study Finds

Lisa Franchi September 08, 2015

New research published in the journal Neuropharmacology found that a common drug prescribed for depression and other mental health disorders may alter brain structures in depressed and non-depressed individuals in very different ways.

The researchers were referring to sertraline a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) marketed as Zoloft. The drug was found to increase the volume of one brain region (the anterior cingulate cortex) in depressed subjects but decrease the volume of two brain areas (anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus) in non-depressed subjects. The said brain regions are known to be involved in a wide array of functions, including memory, learning, spatial navigation, will, motivation and emotion; and are implicated in major depressive disorder.

Study Implications

The researchers note that the said drug is widely prescribed for a variety of disorders other than depression. They include bulimia, hot flashes, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, stroke recovery and sexual dysfunction. Currently, there are no other studies which investigated the effects of these drugs on brain volumes in individuals not diagnosed with depression.

While the study was conducted on animal subjects, “these observations are important for human health because Zoloft is widely prescribed for a number of disorders other than depression," says lead author Carol A. Shively, Ph.D., professor of pathology-comparative medicine at Wake Forest Baptist.

"The study’s findings regarding the different effects of sertraline on brain-region volumes in depressed versus non-depressed subjects are compelling," she adds. "But given the number of different disorders for which SSRIs are prescribed, the findings need to be investigated further in patient populations to see if these drugs produce similar effects in humans."

Source of this article: Neuropharmacology