Drug-related test patterns of depressed patients.

Several types of drugs reportedly have been useful in treating depressions, but the specific effects of these drugs on functioning remain unclear. Forty-nine hospitalized depressed patients were randomly assigned on a double-blind basis to an imipramine, chlorpromazine or placebo group. Psychological test performance was compared after 3 weeks of in-hospital drug treatment. Neither drug produced impairment on most measures of intellectual functioning. The results suggest imipramine may impair ability to assimilate and retain information, and that chlorpromazine may impair sustained attention. The differential effects were discussed in relation to symptoms, and to hypotheses about the relationship between arousal and chlorpromazine and between retardation and imipramine in the treatment of depression.