antidepressants and hallucinations

antidepressants and hallucinations
   The term antidepressant was introduced in or shortly before 1953 by the American psychiatrists Harry M. Salzer (b. 1906) and Max L. Lurie (b. 1920) in a barely noticed article on the mood-altering potential of the tuberculo-static isoniazid. As the French psychiatrists Jean Delay (1907-1987) and Jean-François Buisson had noted a year before Salzer and Lurie, iso-niazid appeared to be well suited to treat anxiety and depressive symptoms. Today the term antidepressant is used in a broad as well as a more restricted sense. In the restricted sense, it denotes a group of psychotropic substances with varying chemical structures which are used in the treatment of an array of psychiatric and neurological symptoms and disorders, including depression, depressive disorder, dysthymia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, chronic pain, and " hyperaesthesia. In a broader sense, the term antidepressant has been used to designate other compounds and methods with the potential to alleviate a clinically depressed mood, some of which have been used since ancient times. In this broad sense, antidepressants include various nutrients, various herbal and plant preparations (notably opium, phencyclidine, and Saint John's wort), electric convulsive therapy (ECT), light therapy (LT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), acupuncture, "sleep deprivation, and psychotherapy. The exact mechanism of action of antidepressant substances is unknown.
   Although traditionally a major part of their action is attributed to their influence upon the serotonergic system of the CNS, they are also known to affect dopaminergic, cholinergic, and other neurotransmitter systems. Antidepressant substances are notorious for their many possible adverse effects, including the induction of delusions, " illusions, and hallucinations. Among the hallucinatory phenomena reported by individuals using antidepressant substances are " hypnagogic and "hypnopompic hallucinations, "simple and "complex visual hallucinations, and "verbal and " nonverbal auditory hallucinations (including " musical hallucinations). The neurophysiologi-cal correlates of these hallucinations are likewise unknown. Some hypotheses focus on the direct action of antidepressants upon the perceptual system via the serotonergic and cholinergic systems. Others focus on their indirect effects due to the release of serotonin-mediated dopamine (suggesting an analogy with the purported mechanism underlying hallucinations in the major psychotic disorders), the suppression of REM sleep (suggesting an involvement of the brain's sleep-dream system), and blurred vision (suggesting a mechanism similar to that underlying the " Charles Bonnet syndrome).
   References
   Salzer, H.M., Lurie, M.L. (1953). Anxiety and depressive states treated with isonicotinyl hydrazide (isoniazid). Ohio State Medical Journal, 51, 437-441.
   Cancelli, I., Marcon, G., Balestrieri, M. (2004).
   Factors associated with complex visual hallucinations during antidepressant treatment. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 19, 577-584.

Dictionary of Hallucinations. . 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Health and Disease — ▪ 2009 Introduction Food and Drug Safety.       In 2008 the contamination of infant formula and related dairy products with melamine in China led to widespread health problems in children, including urinary problems and possible renal tube… …   Universalium

  • Drugs and health care products — ▪ Table Drugs and health care products drugs toxicity, symptoms, and signs Painkillers aspirin, sodium salicylate increased perspiration, respiration increased initially, dehydration, acidity in the body, hypoglycemia, CNS depression, respiration …   Universalium

  • hypnagogic hallucination —    Also known as hypnagogic imagery, hypnagogic reverie, hypnagogic illusion, hypnagogic visualization, presomnal sensation, predormital hallucination, anthypnic sensation, oneirogagic image, phantasma, vision of half sleep, and faces in the dark …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • hypnopompic hallucination —    The term hypnopompic hallucination is indebted to the Greek words hupnos (sleep) and pem pein (to accompany, to send away). It translates roughly as a hallucination that accompanies the individual when leaving the sleeping state . The term was …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • musical hallucination —    Also known as musical hallucinosis, auditory Charles Bonnet syndrome, and Oliver Sacks syndrome, after the British neurologist Oliver Wolf Sacks (b. 1933). All four terms are used to denote an *auditory hallucination characterized by songs,… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • mental disorder — Any illness with a psychological origin, manifested either in symptoms of emotional distress or in abnormal behaviour. Most mental disorders can be broadly classified as either psychoses or neuroses (see neurosis; psychosis). Psychoses (e.g.,… …   Universalium

  • Dimenhydrinate — Dramamine redirects here. For the Modest Mouse song, see Dramamine (song). Dimenhydrinate Combination of …   Wikipedia

  • Scopolamine — Systematic (IUPAC) name (–) (S) 3 hydroxy 2 pheny …   Wikipedia

  • Protriptyline — Systematic (IUPAC) name 3 (5H dibenzo[a,d][7]annulen 5 yl) N methylpropan 1 amine Clinical data Trade names …   Wikipedia

  • Venlafaxine — drugbox IUPAC name = 1 [2 dimethylamino 1 (4 methoxyphenyl) ethyl] cyclohexan 1 ol CAS number = 93413 69 5 ChemSpiderID = 56641 ATC prefix = N06 ATC suffix = AX16 ATC supplemental = PubChem = 5656 DrugBank = APRD00125 smiles = O [C@@]… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”