Antidepressants come in many forms, but Serotonin Selective Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most common and also most prescribed antidepressant on the market. The Los Angeles Times explains that 1 in 10 adults are prescribed these drugs in the U.S. A new study showed that a single dose can have dramatic and immediate effects on the brains of healthy individuals. This study comes right after a recently published study with mice that found that serotonin's role in depression is still unclear. Both of these results are rounded off by new issues brought to life about the safety of SSRIs during pregnancy. Overall, this week is a problematic week for antidepressants.

Researcher Dr. Julia Sacher recently stated to WebMD that, "Our findings reveal that SSRIs affect brain connectivity right away, and that these changes encompass the entire brain." This was the only concrete conclusion that Dr. Sacher and the rest of those involved in the study could draw from their results. The study in question was conducted to observe the effects of SSRIs on healthy brains while thinking about "nothing in particular." After introducing a small dose of Lexapro and a placebo to the control group, the researchers found that connectivity between neurons decreased significantly in most brain areas, save for the cerebellum and the thalamus. In those brain areas connectivity increased.

The study is considered to be a first step onto making treatment of depression more efficient by being able to predict which patients might be more likely to respond to SSRIs. But that goal seems to contradict a recent study that found that serotonin may not play a major role in depression like originally thought. According to a report from Medical News Today, the study found that when mice were genetically modified so that they would not produce serotonin, they did not display any depression-like symptoms. The researchers then stated that the "findings may be evidence that serotonin is not a major player in the condition, and that different factors must be involved."

Both of these studies perhaps present an interesting problem of how to think of antidepressants among increasing evidence that it does not work in the straightforward way that it was once originally thought. This is further complicated by a recent report from The Washington Post which explains the results of a study that found that there was no causal relationship between SSRIs and miscarriage. In fact, their findings seemed to suggest that the effects of depression on pregnant women might be worse than risks from continuing the use of SSRIs through pregnancy.

The results of the three studies are only linked by their subject matter: the effects of SSRIs. But there's been some indication by each research team that the results are all in contrast to what was previously thought about how SSRIs are used. Based on all these studies, perhaps psychologists and health care providers alike are interested in whether SSRIs are still as effective as they seemed to be when they first came to the market in the 1980s. More importantly, although there's no new concrete conclusions to be drawn about antidepressants, there are definitely more questions about the drugs that need to be solved.