One-minute film · SSRIs · serotonin transporter
The Replay
SSRIs act on one protein, the serotonin transporter (SERT), which pulls released serotonin back into the nerve ending. The film runs one serotonin release twice, the second time with escitalopram occupying SERT, so serotonin lingers and spreads further; in mouse brain slices escitalopram slowed serotonin clearance about 2.5-fold.
In eight healthy men, a single 10 mg dose occupied 59–69% of SERT six hours later (averages for different brain regions). Yet the full clinical benefit can take weeks, and why remains an open question.
The release-and-uptake simulation (tuned to the measured 2.5× slowing) and the molecular paths are illustrative, and the pink brain spreads the measured regional averages over the SERT map. The PET map, serotonin fibres and protein structures are real data.
Made in the Landau Lab in October 2026 as a one-minute trailer for the CINP International Course in Psychopharmacology (2027).
Where the images and numbers come from
Sources
- Beliveau et al. 2017, J Neurosci (human SERT PET map, [11C]DASB, 100 people; via Hansen et al. 2022 / neuromaps, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
- Lundberg et al. 2007, Int J Neuropsychopharmacol (59–69% SERT occupancy by PET 6 h after one 10 mg escitalopram dose; 8 healthy men, regional means)
- Zhang et al. 2025, Mol Psychiatry (about 2.5× slower serotonin clearance with 10 µM escitalopram; mouse dorsal raphe slices, FSCV)
- Coleman, Green & Gouaux 2016, Nature (SERT with escitalopram bound, PDB 5I71)
- Yang & Gouaux 2021, Sci Adv (serotonin pose in SERT, PDB 7LIA)
- Mays et al. 2023, Front Neurosci (real mouse serotonin fibres; confocal data on Dryad, CC0)
- Meyer et al. 2004, Am J Psychiatry (about 80% SERT occupancy at minimum therapeutic SSRI doses; sets how much uptake the simulation blocks, not shown on screen)
- Fonov et al. 2011 (MNI ICBM152 2009 brain template)
