Table 1.

Type of anti-depressant drugs and their effect on seizures.

Drug	Class	Mode of action	Effect on seizures
Imipramine Desipramine Amoxapine Doxepin	TCAs	Inhibit the uptake of norepinephrine and serotonin in adrenergic and serotonergic neurons	Lower the seizure threshold
Sertraline Fluoxetine Citalopram	SSRIs	Blocks the SERT which induces selective inhibition of serotonin uptake at the presynaptic neuronal membrane	Helps in seizures control
Desvenlafaxine Duloxetine Venlafaxine	SNRIs	Blocks the NET	Decrease in seizure frequency
Mirtazapine	NaSSAs	Antagonizing the adrenergic α2-autoreceptors and α2-heteroreceptors, blocks 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 receptors	Safe in epilepsy

TCAs, tricyclic antidepressants; SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; SERT, serotonin reuptake transporter; SNRIs, serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors; NET, noradrenaline transporter; NaSSAs, noradrenergic and specific serotonergic anti-depressants.