SSRIs might spur brain cell growth

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20051228/hl_hsn/antidepressantsmayspurbraincellgrowth


Antidepressants May Spur Brain Cell Growth

Tue Dec 27,11:47 PM ET

TUESDAY, Dec. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a widely used class of antidepressant drugs that include Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft, boost nerve fiber growth in key parts of the brain, according to a study with rats.

The finding may help explain how SSRIs work and why it takes a few weeks before some antidepressants begin to have an effect.

The research team from Johns Hopkins University found that SSRIs increased the density of nerve impulse-carrying axons in the frontal and parietal lobes of the neocortex and part of the limbic brain that controls smell, emotions, motivations, and organs that work reflexively, such as the heart, stomach and intestines.…