Acute treatment with the antidepressants bupropion and sertraline do not influence memory retrieval in man.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Several evidences implicate that monoamines play a modulatory role in the brain mechanisms underlying encoding and retrieval of emotional memories. Recent experiments demonstrate that acute monoaminergic potentiation with the antidepressants bupropion or sertraline enhance the retrieval of longterm emotional memory in rodents. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that acute monoaminergic re-uptake inhibition with these antidepressants might enhance retrieval of emotional memory in man.

METHODS:
The central monoaminergic system was stimulated with either bupropion or sertraline in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design with 105 healthy adult subjects divided in three groups (placebo, 150 mg-bupropion and 50 mg-sertraline). Memory was evaluated with a 'surprise' memory test 7 days after the presentation of an emotional story and with a word-cued autobiographical memory test.

RESULTS:
A total of 99 volunteers completed the experimental procedures. Contrasting to our prediction, we found no memory enhancing effect for either drug in both memory tests. All groups showed the expected heightened memory performance to the middle 'emotive' phase of the story.

CONCLUSION:
Stimulation of the central monoaminergic system with the antidepressants bupropion and sertraline did not enhance the retrieval of long-term emotional memories in man.

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Author information

Author/s: Carvalho, André F (AF); Köhler, Cristiano A (CA); Cruz, Eduardo P (EP); Stürmer, Pablo L (PL); Reichman, Bruno P (BP); Barea, Bianca M (BM); Izquierdo, Iván (I); Chaves, Márcia L F (ML);

Affiliation: Centro de Memória, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. andrefc7(-atsign-)terra.com.br

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience (Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Aug; vol 256 (issue 5) : pp 320-5

Dates: Created 2006/08/23; Completed 2007/03/13;

PMID: 16683061, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Antidepressive Agents - pharmacology
Bupropion - pharmacology
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Double-Blind Method
Emotions - drug effects
Female

Female
Humans
Male
Mental Recall - drug effects
Neuropsychological Tests
Personality Inventory
Sertraline - pharmacology
Time Factors

Associated Chemicals: Antidepressive Agents (0) ; Bupropion (34841-39-9) ; Sertraline (79617-96-2)

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