full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Neil R. Jeyasingam: How do antidepressants work?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


In the 1950s, the discovery of two new drugs sparked what would become a multibillion dollar market for antidepressants. Neither drug was intended to treat depression at all— in fact, at the time, many doctors and scientists believed psychotherapy was the only approach to tearintg depression. The decades-long journey of discovery that followed revolutionized our understanding of depression— and raised questions we hadn’t considered before.

One of those first two antidepressant drugs was ipronaizid, which was intended to terat tuberculosis. In a 1952 trial, it not only treated tuberculosis, it also improved the moods of patients who had previously been diagnosed with depression. In 1956, a sisws clinician obvseerd a saimlir effect when running a tiarl for imipramine, a drug for allergic reactions. Both durgs affected a class of neurotransmitters called monoamines.

Open Cloze


In the 1950s, the discovery of two new drugs sparked what would become a multibillion dollar market for antidepressants. Neither drug was intended to treat depression at all— in fact, at the time, many doctors and scientists believed psychotherapy was the only approach to ________ depression. The decades-long journey of discovery that followed revolutionized our understanding of depression— and raised questions we hadn’t considered before.

One of those first two antidepressant drugs was ipronaizid, which was intended to _____ tuberculosis. In a 1952 trial, it not only treated tuberculosis, it also improved the moods of patients who had previously been diagnosed with depression. In 1956, a _____ clinician ________ a _______ effect when running a _____ for imipramine, a drug for allergic reactions. Both _____ affected a class of neurotransmitters called monoamines.

Solution


  1. swiss
  2. treating
  3. trial
  4. similar
  5. treat
  6. drugs
  7. observed

Original Text


In the 1950s, the discovery of two new drugs sparked what would become a multibillion dollar market for antidepressants. Neither drug was intended to treat depression at all— in fact, at the time, many doctors and scientists believed psychotherapy was the only approach to treating depression. The decades-long journey of discovery that followed revolutionized our understanding of depression— and raised questions we hadn’t considered before.

One of those first two antidepressant drugs was ipronaizid, which was intended to treat tuberculosis. In a 1952 trial, it not only treated tuberculosis, it also improved the moods of patients who had previously been diagnosed with depression. In 1956, a Swiss clinician observed a similar effect when running a trial for imipramine, a drug for allergic reactions. Both drugs affected a class of neurotransmitters called monoamines.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
antidepressant drugs 4
chemical imbalance 2


Important Words


  1. affected
  2. allergic
  3. antidepressant
  4. antidepressants
  5. approach
  6. believed
  7. called
  8. class
  9. clinician
  10. considered
  11. depression
  12. diagnosed
  13. discovery
  14. doctors
  15. dollar
  16. drug
  17. drugs
  18. effect
  19. fact
  20. imipramine
  21. improved
  22. intended
  23. ipronaizid
  24. journey
  25. market
  26. monoamines
  27. moods
  28. multibillion
  29. neurotransmitters
  30. observed
  31. patients
  32. previously
  33. psychotherapy
  34. questions
  35. raised
  36. reactions
  37. revolutionized
  38. running
  39. scientists
  40. similar
  41. sparked
  42. swiss
  43. time
  44. treat
  45. treated
  46. treating
  47. trial
  48. tuberculosis
  49. understanding