  |
|
|
|
How Antidepressants Affect Cognitive AbilitiesResearch Shows How Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft Changes the Brain
Antidepressants may ease the symptoms of depression, but they could affect your driving ability & other cognitive functions. Here's how antidepressants affect your brain.
According to a recent study presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, people taking prescription antidepressants appear to drive worse than people who aren't taking antidepressants. Depressed people who take antidepressants have more trouble concentrating and reacting behind the wheel. What the Research Shows about How Antidepressants Affect Cognitive AbilityHolly Dannewitz. PhD, and Tom Petros, PhD, are University of North Dakota psychologists. To study how antidepressants affect cognitive ability and driving reflexes, they recruited 60 people to participate in a driving simulation. Study participants made a series of common driving decisions, such as reacting to brake lights, stop signs or traffic signals while being distracted by speed limit signs, pylons, animals, other cars, helicopters or bicyclists. The simulation tested steering, concentration and scanning. About half of the participants in this study were taking antidepressants. The other half wasn’t taking medications at all (except oral contraceptives, in some cases). What the Researchers Conclude about the Cognitive Effects of Antidepressants“Individuals taking antidepressants should be aware of the possible cognitive effects as [they] may affect performance in social, academic and work settings, as well as driving abilities,” write Dannewitz and Petros in their report for the American Psychological Association. “However, it appears that mood is correlated with cognitive performance, more so than medication use.” Participants who were taking antidepressants and who reported a high number of symptoms of depression scored worse on the driving tests and cognitive performance than those who were taking antidepressants but did not report many symptoms of depression. This leads these researchers to conclude that mood affects cognitive performance more than the actual use of antidepressants. One in 10 Women Take AntidepressantsAccording to the to the 2004 Health United States report, one in 10 women take an antidepressant drug. There has been a rapid increase in the number of Americans taking antidepressants; ScienceDaily reports that Americans’ use of antidepressant drugs such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft, nearly tripled in a decade. If You’re Taking AntidepressantsAntidepressants can be effective in helping you cope with depression – but make sure you’re maintaining regular contact with the doctor, especially at first. Don’t take herbal remedies such as St John's Wort without checking with your doctor first. The combination of prescription antidepressants and herbal supplements for depression can be unhealthy and even dangerous. If you found Antidepressants Affect Cognitive Abilities: How Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft Affects the Brain helpful, you might be interested in: Source: “Antidepressants May Impair Driving Ability, New Research Finds”, ScienceDaily. August 18, 2008.
The copyright of the article How Antidepressants Affect Cognitive Abilities in Clinical Psychology is owned by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen. Permission to republish How Antidepressants Affect Cognitive Abilities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
