Tricyclic antidepressants

Tricyclic antidepressants, or TCAs, are mainly used to treat major depressive disorder.

This disorder causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in everyday activities.

Even though the exact cause of depression is still unknown, there's some evidence that suggests it’s related to low levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Tricyclic antidepressants work by increasing the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine to alleviate the symptoms of depression.

Alright, now within the brain, there are many different types of neurons, but we’re just going to focus on two: serotonergic neurons which produce serotonin, and noradrenergic neurons which produces norepinephrine.

Each of these neurons synthesizes and stores their neurotransmitters in small vesicles.

So, when an action potential reaches the presynaptic membrane, these vesicles fuse with the membrane, releasing neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft.

Once released, serotonin or 5-HT binds to 5-HT2 receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, thereby increasing neural stimulation and regulating mood, feeding, and reproductive behavior.

On the other hand, norepinephrine binds to norepinephrine receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, boosting alertness.

As long as there’s a high enough concentration of neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft, the postsynaptic neurons will continue to fire.