New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) Medicines commonly prescribed to treat depression and anxiety can also help improve brain function and memory, a study has found.
Research published in the journal Biological Psychiatry showed that SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) depression and anxiety medications have the potential to improve verbal memory.
Verbal memory is the ability to remember words, sentences, stories presented through language.
Serotonin is often referred to as the ‘feel good’ chemical, and higher levels of serotonin circulating in the brain lead to a greater sense of well being, which can reduce depression in most sufferers.
Researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital in the Netherlands examined the brain in 90 patients before and after they took the SSRI escitalopram daily for eight weeks.
The team scanned the patients’ brains to measure the amount of the serotonin receptor, the 5HT4 receptor. The patients were also given a number of tests to measure mood and cognitive abilities.
The brains of about 40 patients were then scanned to measure the amount of 5HT4 receptors in the brain.
The results showed that 5HT4 receptor levels in the brain were reduced by about 9 percent and this also led to improvement in the mood of the patients.
“Further cognitive tests showed improvements, showing that the less change in the 5HT4 receptor, the better the cognitive outcome. This finding was particularly prominent for the ability to recall words,” the researchers said.
Vibeke Dam, a researcher at Copenhagen University Hospital, said SSRI drugs could play an important role in the treatment of depression and anxiety.
Dam said the research findings make it clear that serotonin is important for improving mood.
The team has recommended further research for this.
The research was presented at the ongoing European College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference in Milan, Italy.
–IANS
MKS/GKT
