Overcoming Resistance to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors: Targeting Serotonin, Serotonin-1A Receptors and Adult Neuroplasticity

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent mental illness contributing to global disease burden. Selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line treatment for MDD, but are only fully effective in 30% of patients and require weeks before improvement may be seen. About 30% of SSRI-resistant patients may respond to augmentation or switching to another antidepressant, often selected by trial and error. Hence a better understanding of the causes of SSRI resistance is needed to provide models for optimizing treatment. Since SSRIs enhance 5-HT, in this review we discuss new findings on the circuitry, development and function of the 5-HT system in modulating behavior, and on how 5-HT neuronal activity is regulated. We focus on the 5-HT1A autoreceptor, which controls 5-HT activity, and the 5-HT1A heteroreceptor that mediates 5-HT actions. A series of mice models now implicate increased levels of 5-HT1A autoreceptors in SSRI resistance, and the requirement of hippocampal 5-HT1A heteroreceptor for neurogenic and behavioral response to SSRIs. We also present clinical data that show promise for identifying biomarkers of 5-HT activity, 5-HT1A regulation and regional changes in brain activity in MDD patients that may provide biomarkers for tailored interventions to overcome or bypass resistance to SSRI treatment. We identify a series of potential strategies including inhibiting 5-HT auto-inhibition, stimulating 5-HT1A heteroreceptors, other monoamine systems, or cortical stimulation to overcome SSRI resistance.