title: Can psychotropic medications change ethnoculturally determined behavior?
abstract: A clinical case is presented in which the use of a prescribed psychotropic medication was associated with dramatic changes in ethnoculturally determined attitudes and behavior. These changes were first noticed by the patient and followed a month of improvement in the target symptoms for which the medication was prescribed. The hypothesis is advanced that changes in identity may occur only after the establishment and adjustment to a new neurohormonal equilibrium. Medication-induced personality changes may facilitate changes in ethnocultural identity.
authors.affiliation: Transcultural Mental Health Institute, Washington DC 20036-6043, USA.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D016666:Fluvoxamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D016666:Fluvoxamine