(tricyclic antidepressant) A class of medications that relieve depression by interfering with the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine by neurons in the brain and spinal cord. At low doses, they are effective as pain medicines.

(tricyclic antidepressant) A type of drug used to treat depression.

(tricyclic antidepressant) Class of antidepressants with 3 ring chemical structures; mechanism unknown, but believed to involve serotonin metabolism, transport, or receptor sensitivity.

(tricyclic antidepressant) Mood-stimulating agents which contain a tricyclic structure and are used primarily in the treatment of affective disorders and related conditions. This group of agents appear to act through brain catecholamine systems.

(antidepressive agents, tricyclic) Substances that contain a fused three-ring moiety and are used in the treatment of depression. These drugs block the uptake of norepinephrine and serotonin into axon terminals and may block some subtypes of serotonin, adrenergic, and histamine receptors. However, the mechanism of their antidepressant effects is not clear because the therapeutic effects usually take weeks to develop and may reflect compensatory changes in the central nervous system.