Serotonin is a brain neurotransmitter, which is felt to be heavily involved in the cause of depression. As a result drugs which specifically affect this neurotransmitter have been developed. As such they have the advantage of fewer side effects than older drugs. SSRIs relieve depression in most people who take them. There is some evidence that they may be more effective than other medications at treating people with uncommon symptoms of depression, such as eating or sleeping too much or being overly sensitive to rejection.

Some medicines in this group: Fluoxetin, Fontex, Prozac, Citalopram, Cipramil, Paroxit, Seroxat, Sertralin, Zoloft, Fluvoxamin, Fevarin. They are somwehat similar to Anafranil.