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Same pill, opposite stories: The timing of Prozac treatment shapes the developing brain
Vir Gahrotra
A recent study from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai has uncovered that the timing of treatment with the antidepressant Prozac during childhood and adolescence can fundamentally alter the architecture of nerve cells and the emotional behaviour of male, but not female, rats in adulthood, long after the drug treatment has stopped. Male rats administered Prozac shortly after birth showed greater anxiety- and depressive-like behaviour in adulthood. In sharp contrast, male rats administered the very same dose of Prozac during adolescence had long-lasting decreases in anxiety- and depressive-like behaviour. The starkly opposite outcomes highlight that when it comes to the behavioural effects of a drug like Prozac, timing really matters!
