New Study Highlights Side Effects of Commonly Prescribed Antidepressants
A new study from the Universities of Cambridge and Copenhagen has highlighted the side effects of taking commonly prescribed antidepressants, with emotional blunting being the most common.[0] The team of researchers looked at 66 healthy volunteers, 32 of whom were given a daily dose of escitalopram, an SSRI known to be one of the best-tolerated, while the other 34 were given a placebo.[1]
The volunteers took the drug or placebo for at least 21 days and completed a comprehensive set of self-report questionnaires and were given a series of tests to assess cognitive functions including learning, inhibition, executive function, reinforcement behaviour, and decision-making.[1] The scientists found that those taking the escitalopram were less likely to use positive and negative feedback to help them learn a task compared to the placebo group.[2] This suggests that the medication impacted their sensitivity to rewards and their ability to act in response.[3]
Co-first author Christelle Langley commented: “Our findings provide important evidence for the role of serotonin in reinforcement learning. We are following this work up with a study examining neuroimaging data to understand how escitalopram affects the brain during reward learning.”[4]
The researchers also reported that the participants taking escitalopram had more trouble reaching orgasm during sex, which is a widely reported side effect of SSRIs.[5] SSRIs target serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ chemical that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain.[6] Some of the most commonly prescribed Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are Celexa (Citalopram), Lexapro (Escitalopram), Paxil/Pexeva (Parox[7]
No noteworthy distinctions between the groups were discovered in terms of ‘cold’ cognitive abilities, like attention and memory.[8] Most tests of ‘hot’ cognition – cognitive functions that involve our emotions – showed no changes.[8] It has been reported that SSRIs can lead to a phenomenon known as “blunting” where individuals feel emotionally numb and no longer take pleasure in activities that they used to enjoy.[9] It was predicted that 8.3 million people in England would be prescribed antidepressant medications in 2022.[9]
To measure the effects of SSRIs over a longer period of time, the team used a probabilistic reversal test, where a participant was shown two stimuli (A and B).[10]
0. “What you need to know about ’emotional blunting’ and antidepressants” Metro UK, 23 Jan. 2023, https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/23/what-you-need-to-know-about-emotional-blunting-and-antidepressants-18148241/
1. “Emotional blunting: Cause of common antidepressant side effect may have been discovered” BBC Science Focus Magazine, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/antidepressants-emotional-blunting-side-effect/
2. “Common Antidepressants Can Cause Emotional Blunting: What to Know” Healthline, 22 Jan. 2023, https://www.healthline.com/health-news/common-antidepressants-can-cause-emotional-blunting-what-to-know
3. “Popular Antidepressant May Cause ‘Emotional Blunting,’ New Study Finds” Yahoo Life, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/popular-antidepressant-may-cause-emotional-184500197.html
4. “Common antidepressants may blunt both pain and enjoyment” Popular Science, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.popsci.com/health/antidepressants-emotional-blunting/
5. “Popular antidepressants numb pleasure as well as pain: study” New York Post, 23 Jan. 2023, https://nypost.com/2023/01/23/popular-antidepressants-numb-pleasure-as-well-as-pain-study/
6. “Antidepressants can numb enjoyment as well as pain, scientists say” Daily Mail, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11664895/Antidepressants-numb-enjoyment-pain-scientists-say.html
7. “Common Antidepressants Cause Emotional “Blunting” – Scientists Finally Figured Out Why” SciTechDaily, 23 Jan. 2023, https://scitechdaily.com/common-antidepressants-cause-emotional-blunting-scientists-finally-figured-out-why/
8. “This Is What Nobody Tells You Before You Start Taking Antidepressants – And It Affects Almost 60% Of People” Revyuh, 22 Jan. 2023, https://www.revyuh.com/news/lifestyle/health-and-fitness/this-is-what-nobody-tells-you-before-you-start-taking-antidepressants-and-it-affects-almost-60-of-people
9. “Why Anti-Depressants Cause Emotional Blunting” BioTechniques, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.biotechniques.com/neuroscience/emotional-blunting-and-reward-processing-side-effects-of-anti-depressants/
10. “Patients Taking Antidepressants Become Emotionally Numb, Researchers Investigate Why” The Epoch Times, 23 Jan. 2023, https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/patients-taking-antidepressants-become-emotionally-numb-researchers-investigate-why_5004305.html