title: Amoxapine and amitriptyline. II. Specificity of cognitive effects during brief treatment of depression.
abstract: Cognitive effects of brief antidepressant treatments were studied in depressed outpatients assigned double-blind to equipotent doses of amoxapine or amitriptyline in a 12-week double-crossover of 3-week periods of active agent and placebo. The two drugs had different profiles of effects: amitriptyline was associated with faster reaction time on tests of attention and immediate memory, reduced accuracy on an attention task, and impaired long-term memory (after 1 but not 3 weeks); amoxapine slowed performance and increased intraperson variability on a psychomotor coordination task. Amitriptyline facilitated performance in the more depressed patients, and amoxapine in the older patients. Both agents also increased pulse rate and reduced palmar sweating.
mesh_terms: D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000657:Amoxapine / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003989:Dibenzoxazepines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D003989:Dibenzoxazepines; D000639:Amitriptyline; D000657:Amoxapine