Antidepressants Impact the Brain. Furthermore, antidepressants create dramatic changes in the brain immediately. Specifically, changes in the functional structure of the brain have been observed after a single dose of SSRI medication. Therefore, this is significant because the teenage brain is still developing.
When it comes to antidepressants and the teenage brain, we are talking about dramatic cerebral changes.
These changes can take place very quickly after a teen begins using an SSRI. Learn why antidepressants have warnings about suicidal thinking in children and teens, what to do before your child starts taking an antidepressant, and the warning signs of a potential problem. Might exposure to antidepressants in adolescents have persisting negative effects? This article reviews the neural effects of antidepressant treatment during late childhood and early adolescence.
The study looked at the effectiveness and safety of two antidepressants in teenagers. One of the drugs was paroxetine (Paxil), which may sound familiar to you. The impact of SSRIs on the developing adolescent brain , however, remains unclear.
In this review we first consider what is currently known about the developing brain during adolescence and how these development processes may be affected by a depressive illness.