Bupropion is a drug primarily used as an atypical antidepressant and smoking cessation aid. Medically, bupropion serves as a non-tricyclic antidepressant fundamentally different from most commonly prescribed antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). It is an effective antidepressant on its own, but is also popular as an add-on medication in cases of incomplete response to first-line SSRI antidepressants. In contrast to many other antidepressants, it does not cause weight gain or sexual dysfunction. Bupropion affects a number of neurotransmitter systems, and its mechanisms of action are only partly understood. A norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor, the primary pharmacological action of the drug is as a mild dopamine reuptake inhibitor and also a much weaker norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor as well as a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist.
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