SSRIs, adolescents, and aggression: tempering human implications regarding SSRI-induced aggression in hamsters:...

The safety and efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in adolescents is a topic of great import, complexity, and controversy. Conflicting evidence derived from clinical trials, translational research, and basic science demands that investigators in the field use critical thinking in the synthesis of evidence from varying sources. The new study by Ricci and Melloni presented in the current issue of this journal shows that exposure to low-dose fluoxetine during adolescence predisposes Syrian hamsters to offensive aggression, with demonstrable neurophysiologic changes. This work adds to the understanding of the mammalian neuropathways of aggression, but is limited in its direct generalizability to human adolescent clinical populations.