Antidepressants Grow New Brain Cells? What?

Link: Antidepressants Grow New Brain Cells
Aug 7 2003
New research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health strongly suggests that some antidepressants work by growing new neurons (brain cells). The study found that blocking the formation of neurons in the hippocampus blocked the behavioral effects of the antidepressant fluoxitine (marketed as Prozac and Sarafem) in mice.

Studies had already demonstrated that depression and anxiety can cause loss of neurons. Other studies have shown that antidepressants can trigger neuron growth, termed neurogenesis, in the hippocampus; but the significance of this was unclear.

This is very interesting, as I have been reading for quite some time about how chronic sympathetic nervous system activation destroys neurons in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is like a switchboard that encodes and decodes conscious memories.

The article claims that Imipramine, after being used for weeks, actually causes those same types of cells in the hippocampus to grow (meaning new cells, not fixing the old broken ones).

hhmmmm... I was on Imipramine for seven weeks, and it had no noticeable affect on me at all, which is why we decided to stop taking it. I would like to see more research on this, because as my memory conitnues to get worse, any hope of being able to grow new neurons in the hippocampus is a big plus item for me, so I will have to remember to discuss this with my psychiatrist when I see him next week. If there is agreement that Imipramine will create new neurons in the hippocampus, then it would be a good idea for me to take it even if it doesn't help with my anxiety.

Just a note to all you out there, these tests are done on animals, usually mice, never on humans, because unfortunately to really test these theories on humans would require invasive procedures on the brain that would kill the patient. So as with all theories it must be taken with a grain of salt.