ReviewMolecular psychiatry2002
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as targets for antidepressants.
Review in Molecular psychiatry, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 113 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
113 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 273 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of nicotinic receptors in alcohol consumption.Pharmacological research · 2023Pooled it
- Topical mecamylamine for diabetic macular edema.American journal of ophthalmology · 2010Trial
- Nicotine in Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence.Neurochemical research · 2026Review
- The causal mediating effect of smoking on the relationship between irritability and bipolar disorder: A two-step Mendelian randomization study.Tobacco induced diseases · 2025Article
- Bupropion and varenicline administration reversed depressive behavior induced by acetamiprid exposure in mice: the role of nAChRs in depression.Toxicology research · 2024Article
- Desipramine induces eryptosis in human erythrocytes, an effect blunted by nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside and N-acetyl-L-cysteine but enhanced by Calcium depletion.Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) · 2023Article
- Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Innervation Induces Depression-Like Behaviors Through Ventral Subiculum Hyperactivation.Neuroscience bulletin · 2023Article
- What We Have Gained from Ibogaine: α3β4 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Inhibitors as Treatments for Substance Use Disorders.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2023Review
- Potential of Heterogeneous Compounds as Antidepressants: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Article
- Review
- Is the Antidepressant Activity of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Mediated by Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors?Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Associations of acetylcholinesterase inhibition between pesticide spray seasons with depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents, and the role of sex and adrenal hormones on gender moderation.Exposure and health · 2021Article
- Different Classes of Antidepressants Inhibit the Rat α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor by Interacting within the Ion Channel: A Functional and Structural Study.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Proposed Neuroimmune Roles of Dimethyl Fumarate, Bupropion,Brain sciences · 2020Review
- Molecular basis of mood and cognitive adverse events elucidated via a combination of pharmacovigilance data mining and functional enrichment analysis.Archives of toxicology · 2020Article
- Attenuation in Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor α9 and α10 Subunit Double Knock-Out Mice of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.Biomolecules · 2019Article
- Synthesis of Novel Nicotinic Ligands with Multimodal Action: Targeting Acetylcholine α4β2, Dopamine and Serotonin Transporters.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Genes Involved in Neurodevelopment, Neuroplasticity and Major Depression: No Association forClinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2019Article
- Associations of acetylcholinesterase activity with depression and anxiety symptoms among adolescents growing up near pesticide spray sites.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2019Article
53 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
While the monoamine deficiency hypothesis of depression is still most commonly used to explain the actions of antidepressant drugs, a growing body of evidence has accumulated that is not adequately explained by the hypothesis. This article draws attention to contributions from another apparently common pharmacological property of antidepressant medications--the inhibition of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Evidence is presented suggesting the hypercholinergic neurotransmission, which is associated with depressed mood states, may be mediated through excessive neuronal nicotinic receptor activation and that the therapeutic actions of many antidepressants may be, in part, mediated through inhibition of these receptors. In support of this hypothesis, preliminary evidence is presented suggesting that the potent, centrally acting nAChR antagonist, mecamylamine, which is devoid of monoamine reuptake inhibition, may reduce symptoms of depression and mood instability in patients with comorbid depression and bipolar disorder. If this hypothesis is supported by further preclinical and clinical research, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists may represent a novel class of therapeutic agents for treating mood disorders.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.