[A 70-year history of tricyclic antidepressants]

For the first time the facts from the history of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) are systematized in Russian psychiatric literature. The authors describe the history of first TCA agents, analyze the history of TCA group development based on the increase of new agents, present the history of original TCA creation in the USSR and the Eastern block countries, systemize the history of TCA classification development and review the studies on TCA neurochemical activity. An impact of TCA history on formulation of hypotheses of the pathogenesis of depression and some forms of neuroses is demonstrated. It is shown that the history of TCA creation urged the development of new groups of antidepressants.