Based on the analysis of a pharmacological textbook with a global projection, this study investigates how antidepressants were presented to students and medical professionals. From a historical and ethnographic perspective, eleven editions of the work (1941-2006) were analyzed with aid from the resources of the Analysis Discourse. These drugs make their first appearance in the 3rd edition (1965) of the textbook. In the twentieth century editions, there is reference to the expanded use of psychoactive medications and a warning concerning the inappropriate use of these drugs, which notes the importance of the clinical context of the patient to be medicated. In the editions of the twenty-first century, there is less reference to that contextualization and the historical aspects of the drug development. This study restates the importance of addressing historical and sociocultural aspects of pharmacological development and drugs such as antidepressants, as well as the relationship between these aspects of clinical practice and the scientific dissemination of the drugs.
Drug use; Interdisciplinary research; Pharmacological history; Pharmaceutical industry; Psychoactive drugs