⏰ when

When was the first antidepressant discovered?

PsychologyPsychiatry

Quick Answer

The first modern antidepressants were discovered in the 1950s, with imipramine identified around 1951 and used clinically soon after.

The Full Story

Imipramine, one of the first tricyclic antidepressants, was discovered in the early 1950s and used clinically soon afterward. Its development was a breakthrough because it showed that mood disorders could respond to targeted drug treatment. Around the same period, monoamine oxidase inhibitors were also found to have antidepressant effects. These discoveries transformed psychiatry and opened the era of modern psychopharmacology.

Key Facts

1.Discovered around 1951
2.Imipramine was an early antidepressant
3.Helped launch modern psychopharmacology

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"The 1950s discovery that changed depression treatment forever"