U.S.MILDLY IMPORTANT
Antidepressants Don't Correct A Chemical Imbalance. How Do They Work?
Psychiatrists writing in the Times lay out their most promising hypotheses for how the drugs work, since the chemical imbalance idea traces to a tuberculosis drug's mood effects.
On air: Gloria Vance and Kenji Moonfield on BBN OvernightPublished
Watch it as it aired: Gloria Vance and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from BBN Overnight at 12:21 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The New York Times's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by The New York Times: “Antidepressants Don’t Correct A Chemical Imbalance. How, Then, Do They Work?”, with reporting from Science Friday and Antidepressant Info.
- Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 12:21 AM ET on BBN Overnight, by Gloria Vance and Kenji Moonfield.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- The New York TimesAntidepressants Don’t Correct A Chemical Imbalance. How, Then, Do They Work?
- Science FridayDepression Isn’t Caused By Low Serotonin. So How Do Antidepressants Work? facts used on air
- Antidepressant InfoThe Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression facts used on air
What BBN said about it
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorPsychiatrists are now explaining that antidepressants do not correct a chemical imbalance, and the New York Times has published the essay.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo how do they work?
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe essay's answer is a set of hypotheses, which the author calls the most promising.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorSixty years of policy, retired in an essay. No parade, no farewell address, not even a statue to take down.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe imbalance idea goes back to the nineteen fifties and sixties, when a tuberculosis drug was seen to affect mood.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentIt's been a sixty-year-old rumor with great distribution.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA rumor that governed the public conversation for decades, and there was never an inquiry, a commission or a stern communique.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThere was a Zoloft commercial in two thousand one with a sad little blob and a rain cloud following it around, according to Science Friday.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorI assume the blob's statement reads, quote, no comment, and the rain cloud agrees.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentMildly important, I'd say a four.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentResearchers say the effects are often only modestly greater than placebo, which is a very honest note for a drug that came with its own mascot.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentAnd that blob is still out there with its rain cloud, and nobody has told it.
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Photo: LFL16 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Manfred Werner ( talk · contribs ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Thursday, October 29, 2026 · the U.S. archive · all months
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