Antidepressants are Accumulating in Fish Brains in the Wild

0
447

From the International Business Times: Americans are taking so many antidepressants that they are showing up in wild fish. Ten different species of fish in the Great Lakes were found with detectable levels of antidepressants in their brains, including the active ingredients in Prozac, Zoloft, and Sarafem.

“The effects of these drugs on the fish’s biology is not fully understood.

‘These drugs could affect fish behaviour. We didn’t look at behaviour in our study, but other research teams have shown that antidepressants can affect the feeding behaviour of fish or their survival instincts. Some fish won’t acknowledge the presence of predators as much.’

The fish who had several different antidepressants in their brains were of particular concern, the researchers said. These chemicals built up over time, reaching concentrations of up to 20 times greater than in the river water itself. Further research will need to be carried out to determine what risk this poses to the fish and the wider ecosystem.”

Article →­

LEAVE A REPLY