Hormone Responses to Methylamphetamine in Depression: a New Approach to the Noradrenaline Depletion Hypothesis

Abstract

SUMMARY The corticosteroid response to methylamphetamine was lower in ten patients when they were depressed than when they were recovered (P < ·026). The growth hormone responses to the same injection in the depressed and recovered states were not significantly different. This pattern of responses is seen in normal subjects after blockade of alpha adrenergic receptors. These findings may indicate a functional deficiency of noradrenaline at alpha adrenergic receptors in these patients during the time they are depressed.