Clustering antidepressants based on their receptor binding activity

As I’m trying to learn more about antidepressants, I found it interesting to make a visualization of the receptor binding profiles of some of the better characterized ones, so I thought I would post it here.

Some of these medications aren’t widely used anymore or were never pursued for development, so they are also a window into the history of psychiatry and what could have been. This is how the meds cluster based on their receptor binding:

One interesting thing about these clusters is that they cut the medications into groups distinguished by their chemical/drug classes:

• Group #1: TeCAs like mirtazapine and one TCA, doxepin; o
• Group #2: TCAs like amitryptiline and one TeCA, amoxapine
• Group #3: SSRIs/SNRIs, like fluoxetine and venlafaxine
• Group #4: Phenylpiperazines, like trazodone
• Group #5: NRIs/NDRIs, like atomoxetine and buproprion

Here’s my code to reproduce this.

 

 

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