Antidepressant Therapy at the Dawn of the Third Millennium

From our regular book review column.

Since the first observation of specific antidepressant actions of drugs in the 1950s, there has been considerable interest in how drugs work. The ultimate explanation of these effects could lead investigators not only to newer, more effective (and lucrative) treatments but, theoretically, also to the fundamental physiologic causes of depression. However, these discoveries have not come easily. After more than 30 years of research, antidepressants remain something of a mystery.