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Objective: The present study aimed to 1) assess facial expression recognition in subjects with a previous history of major depressive disorder relative to subjects with no history of depression and 2) characterize the effects of acute citalopram infusion on recognition performance for both groups. Method: Unmedicated euthymic women with a history of major depression and matched comparison subjects with no history of depression were given a facial expression recognition task following intravenous infusion of saline or citalopram (10 mg) in a double-blind, between-group design. Results: Following saline infusion, subjects with a previous history of depression showed a selectively greater recognition of fear relative to the subjects with no history of depression. The abnormal fear processing observed in the subjects with a previous history of depression was normalized following citalopram infusion, an effect that was opposite to that seen with the subjects with no history of depression. Conclusions: These results suggest that increased recognition of fear is a trait vulnerability marker for depression and that this is normalized following a single dose of citalopram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates the extracellular dopamine concentrations in patients with acute mania. Measurement of [[sup 11]C]]raclopride binding positron emission tomography; Dietary manipulation of the dopamine precursors tyrosine and phenylalanine; Statistical parametric mapping analysis.

Unlike tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, mianserin did not increase prolactin response to the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) precursor tryptophan in nine patients with major depression. Antidepressant drugs apparently produce dissimilar effects on this aspect of brain 5-HT function in depressed patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]