The resultant boomerang-shaped molecule was able to surgically strike the bad serotonin autoreceptors and spare the good receptors.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Animal tests show that the compound does indeed hit the autoreceptors, and early human trials found no big safety problems.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But nerve cells have sensors called autoreceptors that detect this flood of new serotonin and try to counteract its effect.

FORBES: A Quick Lift for the Blues

The problem seemed to be a long spine that connected the two business ends of the molecule responsible for gumming up the autoreceptors.

FORBES: A Quick Lift for the Blues

Howard was brought in to craft a chemical that zeroed in on and blocked the serotonin autoreceptors, while avoiding numerous other similar brain receptors required for healthy functioning.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Sprouse and others theorized in the early 1990s that drugs that blocked these self-defeating autoreceptors could create a faster impact by causing an immediate, long-lasting flow of serotonin that would lift a patient's mood in days.

FORBES: Magazine Article