Generally, it is thought that Antidepressants increase the effects of the brain receptors that assist nerve cells to be sensitive to glutamate, a nonessential amino acid organic compound. That is, the support of the nerve cells lowers the glutamate sensitivity, and thus provides protection against overwhelming of glutamate and exciting of the key areas in the brain related to depression and anxiety. Antidepressants such as tricyclic antidepressants usually work to reduce or eliminate depression in this way.

Tetracyclic Antidepressants, however, take a different approach to reducing depression. They inhibit depression by stopping neurotransmitters and alpha-2 receptors, a type of nerve cell receptors, from binding, rather than directly inhibiting the reuptake of these neurotransmitters. This increases the serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain indirectly, which in turn elevates or improves mood. Some commonly and effectively used tetracyclic antidepressants are;

• Amoxapine
• Maprotiline
• Mianserin
• Mirtazapine
• Oxaprotile
• Setiptiline

The effects of antidepressants like tetracyclic antidepressants often vary from person to person due to each individual’s unique genetic makeup. Like most antidepressant drugs, though tetracyclic antidepressants cannot always cure depression, they patients into a state of remission, where they suffer from almost no symptoms of depression at all.