Scientists discover why some anti-depressant users become emotionally 'blunted'.
“Between 40-60% of patients taking SSRIs are believed to experience this side effect,” they pointed out.
Participants were matched for age, sex, and intelligence quotient and semi-randomised into two groups - one group received escitalopram 20 mg daily, and the other group received placebo, for at least 21 days. However, the "key novel finding", they said, was that there was "reduced reinforcement sensitivity" on two tasks for the escitalopram group compared with those on placebo. "Reinforcement learning is how we learn from feedback from our actions and environment," they explained.
"Lower reinforcement sensitivity in response to chronic SSRI administration may reflect the ‘blunting’ effect often reported by patients with major depressive disorder treated with SSRIs," they hypothesised.
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