Thread by @Altostrata

@DepressionLab @tkaiser_science @Martin_Ploederl @HengartnerMP @CVolkmannMD @f_hieronymus My theory, published nowhere but Twitter, is that #antidepressants are psychotropics, & any psychotropic might be marginally effective for "depression" in some population, at very similar slim rates of efficacy.

Efficacy determined by subjective effect on subjective sensation.

@DepressionLab @tkaiser_science @Martin_Ploederl @HengartnerMP @CVolkmannMD @f_hieronymus Categorization of a drug as "antidepressant" is, of course, arbitrary. Some say benzodiazepines are antidepressants. Antipsychotics are promoted as antidepressant. Amphetamines & buprenorphine have been floated as antidepressant. Some like marijuana.

Any psychotropic will do.

@DepressionLab @tkaiser_science @Martin_Ploederl @HengartnerMP @CVolkmannMD @f_hieronymus So search for the reason "antidepressants" are "antidepressant" is doomed. Ultimately, you'd find any psychotropic causes neurobiological adaptation, that's the definition of a psychotropic, & some humans will subjectively interpret the effect as antidepressant. Others won't.

@DepressionLab @tkaiser_science @Martin_Ploederl @HengartnerMP @CVolkmannMD @f_hieronymus You're welcome. Say hi to Richard Shelton for me.

@threadreaderapp please unroll

@DepressionLab @tkaiser_science @Martin_Ploederl @HengartnerMP @CVolkmannMD @f_hieronymus I must amend: I think patients will like the psychotropics associated with abuse better & they'll get higher marks for "efficacy" as #antidepressants, particularly the stimulants. Everybody seems to like the stimulants.