Drugs and Dreams III: The Effects of Imipramine on the Dreams of Depressed Patients

Abstract

An examination of the dreams of depressed patients revealed that there are measurable changes in dream content which accompany imipramine treatment and clinical improvement. The findings are consistent with a view of the intrapsychic condition in depression as being high in feelings of hostility and anxiety and low in heterosexuality and motility. The essential psychopharmacologic action of imipramine in depression is a two-step effect in which hostility is mobilized and then discharged.