Properties
Chemically, Fluoxetine is chemically very inert. It is not explosive or
toxic, it is a synthetic designer compound. Structurally it resembles
Benadryl, the compound from which it was originally derived.
Prozac is classified as a “Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor.”
This means that it acts upon the neurotransmitters in a person’s brain.
Serotonin is one of the brain’s neurotransmitters that passes information
about the body. Serotonin is responsible for triggering sleep, telling us
when we are in pain, and when we feel pleasure. When we feel an emotion and
nerves somewhere in our body fire, this 
signal
travels up into the brain. In the brain, there are special nerve endings
called the presynaptic and postsynaptic nerve endings. The presynaptic
nerve ending releases information in the form of Serotonin molecules.
These molecules then connect with the postsynaptic nerve ending, and the nerve
impulse continues along the nerve. The serotonin that was not used, that
didn’t connect with the postsynaptic nerve, is either broken down or taken up
by the presynaptic nerve. Fluoxetine interferes with this process by inhibiting
the uptake of serotonin back into the presynaptic nerve ending. Because
the excess serotonin is not taken back up into the
presynaptic nerve, it remains in the nerve ending. This causes more
serotonin to be taken up by the postsynaptic nerve, meaning that the person is
receiving a sort of serotonin boost. This boost has a very positive effect
on the symptoms of depression, but scientists are still not sure exactly why.
