title: Effects of antiepileptic drugs on mood and behavior.
abstract: Psychiatric disorders in epilepsy have a multifactorial etiology, pharmacotherapy being only one of many risk factors, which can be both biological and psychosocial. Two important mechanisms of drug-induced psychiatric changes are seizure control/forced normalization in psychosis and GABA-ergic effects in depression. Among the psychiatric adverse events of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), behavioral problems are the most commonly reported, followed by affective disorders. Psychosis is a relatively rare, although severe, complication. Psychotropic effects of AEDs warrant further research because many relevant parameters related to pathological mechanisms, frequency, psychopathology, and prognosis are not well understood. Behavioral side-effect profiles of AEDs, both negative and positive psychotropic effects, should be considered in the choice of the optimal drug for an individual patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Charité, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. bettina.schmitz@charite.de
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmitz
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced*; D011605:Psychoses, Substance-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs