Posted by Larry Hoover on December 2, 2002, at 8:52:16
In reply to Receptor/brain damage?, posted by Suzi on December 2, 2002, at 5:30:48
> Once a drug is taken (In this case let's say an SSRI) does the brain go through actual physical changes? And if so, can it (the brain) ever return to it's original state once the drugs are stopped?
Yes, and yes. Antidepressants cause changes in the way your genes are expressed, but they don't affect the genes themselves. One of the most important aspects about current brain research is that we are discovering that long-held assumptions about the brain just aren't true. You're constantly growing new brain cells (so long as your brain is stimulated), changing connections between cells, changing the sensitivity and number of receptors, and so on. Antidepressants take a few weeks to work, it is now presumed (only a theory), because it takes a few weeks for the gradual physical changes in receptor number and sensitivity to have a substantial impact on the way the brain is wired.
> I see so many people who have tired every drug under the sun, does this ultimately cause any sort of damage?
I have not found any compelling evidence for that conclusion. There are short-term changes which occur in the withdrawal phase which raise concern, but there is always re-adaptation to the drug-free state. I like Linkadge's analogy to wearing glasses. When you take them off, your vision is quite blurry. Did the glasses damage the eye? No. You've simply become accustomed to the changes the glasses provide.
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:130208
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021127/msgs/130227.html