Recenti acquisizioni nella neurobiologia della depressione maggiore: una revisione critica=Recent assessments on the neurobiology of major depression: a critical review

In the last decade, considerable progress has been made toward the identification of the main neurobiological mechanisms of depression and, even though abnormalities in the levels and functions of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine are well-established, substantial evidence indicates that not only monoamines play an important role in the pathophisiology of depression. Symptoms and signs of depression seem to be associated in changes in neurotransmitter function, neuroendocrine and immune status. Continuous advances in the neurobiology of these systems in depression will undoubtedly see in the near future the arrival of new classes of antidepressant drugs such as corticotropin-releasing factors antagonists, substance P antagonists, vasopressin-receptor antagonists, etc. Therefore, although it remains to be seen whether alterations in neurotransmitters and neurohormones represent the cause or the consequence of depressive illness, it is of great clinical interest to update the neurobiological background of depressive illness with more recent assessments in the field in terms of psychopharmacology and treatment options.