#escitalopram — Public Fediverse posts

DATE: September 20, 2026 at 09:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Psilocybin and standard antidepressants both shift the brain away from negative biases

URL: https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-and-standard-antidepressants-both-shift-the-brain-away-from-negative/

Psilocybin and standard antidepressants both reduce the brain’s tendency to view the world through a negative lens. The findings suggest both drugs might relieve depression by shifting how the brain processes emotional information, though they may achieve this through different timelines. The research was published in Translational Psychiatry.

Depression involves more than just a persistently low mood. It affects how people perceive reality on a subconscious level. People with major depressive disorder often exhibit a negative affective bias, meaning they tend to interpret ambiguous or even positive social cues as negative. They might look at a neutral facial expression and perceive anger or sadness.

According to cognitive models of depression, this skewed perception plays a fundamental role in maintaining the illness. When people constantly interpret their social environment as hostile or rejecting, it reinforces their depressed mood. Breaking this cycle is a primary goal of psychiatric intervention.

Traditional treatments like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, known as SSRIs, aim to correct this imbalance. Medications such as escitalopram often take several weeks to produce noticeable improvements in a patient’s mood. Researchers believe this delay happens because the drugs first shift the brain’s emotional processing bias. Patients then need time to interact with their environment and experience positive social feedback before their overall mood lifts.

In recent years, psychiatric researchers have explored psychedelic compounds as alternative treatments for depression. Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic ingredient in magic mushrooms. Clinical trials indicate that psilocybin can alleviate depressive symptoms much faster than traditional daily pills, but it remains unknown exactly how the compound changes cognitive functions to achieve this rapid relief.

A team led by Marieke A. G. Martens, a psychiatry researcher at the University of Oxford, designed a study to compare the cognitive effects of both drugs. The team included Robin Carhart-Harris and Catherine J. Harmer, among other researchers. They wanted to see if psilocybin works through the same emotional processing pathways as conventional antidepressants.

The study involved 59 patients diagnosed with long-standing, moderate-to-severe depression. The researchers randomly assigned these participants into two separate groups for a six-week trial. They conducted the study under double-blind conditions, meaning neither the patients nor the clinicians knew which full treatment protocol any individual received.

The first group received two 25-milligram doses of psilocybin spaced three weeks apart. These patients also took an inactive placebo pill every day for the six weeks. The second group received a daily dose of the SSRI escitalopram for the entire six-week period. To maintain the blind design, this second group also received two tiny one-milligram doses of psilocybin, which acted as a placebo during the dosing sessions.

Medication was only one component of the treatment protocol. Both groups received identical psychological support throughout the trial. This included preparatory sessions before receiving the psychedelic doses. Therapists also provided integration sessions afterward to help patients process their hallucinogenic experiences.

To measure emotional processing, the researchers used a computer-based assessment called the Facial Expression Recognition Task. Participants completed this task at the beginning of the trial and again at the six-week mark. During the test, patients viewed images of human faces flashing on a screen for half a second.

The faces displayed one of six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, or surprise. The researchers morphed these images to display varying intensities of emotion, ranging from completely neutral to full intensity. Participants had to identify the emotion shown on each face as quickly and accurately as possible using a keyboard.

Before the treatments began, the participants displayed a measurable negative bias, accurately identifying negative emotions but struggling with positive ones. After six weeks, both treatment groups showed a reduction in this negative bias. The differences between the psilocybin and escitalopram groups were not statistically significant.

Across both groups, participants became less accurate at recognizing negative emotions compared to their baseline scores. They also made fewer errors misclassifying faces as negative. Reaction times for identifying negative and positive emotions improved after the treatments. The researchers noted that patients recognized positive emotions even faster than negative ones at the end of the trial.

Previous brain imaging studies on these same patients showed that the two drugs had different physical effects on the brain. Escitalopram reduced activity in the amygdala, an area involved in processing fear and emotion, when patients viewed faces. Psilocybin did not produce this same dampening effect on amygdala activity. Despite these neurological differences, the behavioral outcomes on the emotional recognition task were remarkably similar.

The researchers then looked for links between these cognitive changes and overall depression symptoms. They measured depression severity using a standard self-report questionnaire at the six-week mark. At this concurrent time point, the reduction in negative emotional bias did not correlate with a drop in depression scores for either group.

The team followed up with the patients one month after the trial ended, at the ten-week mark. For the patients who took escitalopram, a decrease in misclassifying positive faces as negative at six weeks predicted lower depression scores at ten weeks. This aligns with the theory that SSRIs slowly improve mood as patients experience the world through a less negative lens.

This longitudinal relationship did not appear in the psilocybin group. The reduction in negative bias at six weeks did not predict better depression scores at ten weeks for these patients. The lack of correlation suggests that while psilocybin does alter emotional processing, its fast-acting antidepressant effects might rely on other psychological or neurological mechanisms.

The researchers noted several limitations to their experimental design. The trial did not include a pure inactive placebo group that received no active medication at all. Without a strict control group, it is difficult to completely separate the chemical effects of the drugs from the psychological support provided during the trial.

There was likely an inadvertent sample bias among the volunteers. Patients who sign up for clinical trials involving psychedelics often hold a strong preference for receiving psilocybin over traditional daily medications. This preference could influence how they respond to the respective treatments and how they report their symptoms.

Future studies will need to incorporate active placebo groups to better manage the blinding process in psychedelic research. Researchers also plan to measure emotional processing much earlier in the treatment timeline. Assessing patients within days of taking psilocybin could reveal how quickly these cognitive shifts occur compared to traditional medications.

Both treatments successfully shifted how patients interpreted emotional information, highlighting a shared cognitive outcome. The exact pathway from altered perception to mood improvement remains an active area of investigation. The study, “Negative affective bias in depression following treatment with psilocybin or escitalopram – a secondary analysis from a randomized trial,” was authored by Marieke A. G. Martens, Bruna Giribaldi Cunha, David Erritzoe, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris, and Catherine J. Harmer.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-and-standard-antidepressants-both-shift-the-brain-away-from-negative/

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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsilocybinDepression #NegativeAffectiveBias #EmotionalProcessing #PsilocybinVsSSRI #Escitalopram #MoodDisorderTreatment #FacialExpressionRecognition #OxfordResearch #TranslationalPsychiatry #DepressionResearch

DATE: September 20, 2026 at 09:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Psilocybin and standard antidepressants both shift the brain away from negative biases

URL: https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-and-standard-antidepressants-both-shift-the-brain-away-from-negative/

Psilocybin and standard antidepressants both reduce the brain’s tendency to view the world through a negative lens. The findings suggest both drugs might relieve depression by shifting how the brain processes emotional information, though they may achieve this through different timelines. The research was published in Translational Psychiatry.

Depression involves more than just a persistently low mood. It affects how people perceive reality on a subconscious level. People with major depressive disorder often exhibit a negative affective bias, meaning they tend to interpret ambiguous or even positive social cues as negative. They might look at a neutral facial expression and perceive anger or sadness.

According to cognitive models of depression, this skewed perception plays a fundamental role in maintaining the illness. When people constantly interpret their social environment as hostile or rejecting, it reinforces their depressed mood. Breaking this cycle is a primary goal of psychiatric intervention.

Traditional treatments like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, known as SSRIs, aim to correct this imbalance. Medications such as escitalopram often take several weeks to produce noticeable improvements in a patient’s mood. Researchers believe this delay happens because the drugs first shift the brain’s emotional processing bias. Patients then need time to interact with their environment and experience positive social feedback before their overall mood lifts.

In recent years, psychiatric researchers have explored psychedelic compounds as alternative treatments for depression. Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic ingredient in magic mushrooms. Clinical trials indicate that psilocybin can alleviate depressive symptoms much faster than traditional daily pills, but it remains unknown exactly how the compound changes cognitive functions to achieve this rapid relief.

A team led by Marieke A. G. Martens, a psychiatry researcher at the University of Oxford, designed a study to compare the cognitive effects of both drugs. The team included Robin Carhart-Harris and Catherine J. Harmer, among other researchers. They wanted to see if psilocybin works through the same emotional processing pathways as conventional antidepressants.

The study involved 59 patients diagnosed with long-standing, moderate-to-severe depression. The researchers randomly assigned these participants into two separate groups for a six-week trial. They conducted the study under double-blind conditions, meaning neither the patients nor the clinicians knew which full treatment protocol any individual received.

The first group received two 25-milligram doses of psilocybin spaced three weeks apart. These patients also took an inactive placebo pill every day for the six weeks. The second group received a daily dose of the SSRI escitalopram for the entire six-week period. To maintain the blind design, this second group also received two tiny one-milligram doses of psilocybin, which acted as a placebo during the dosing sessions.

Medication was only one component of the treatment protocol. Both groups received identical psychological support throughout the trial. This included preparatory sessions before receiving the psychedelic doses. Therapists also provided integration sessions afterward to help patients process their hallucinogenic experiences.

To measure emotional processing, the researchers used a computer-based assessment called the Facial Expression Recognition Task. Participants completed this task at the beginning of the trial and again at the six-week mark. During the test, patients viewed images of human faces flashing on a screen for half a second.

The faces displayed one of six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, or surprise. The researchers morphed these images to display varying intensities of emotion, ranging from completely neutral to full intensity. Participants had to identify the emotion shown on each face as quickly and accurately as possible using a keyboard.

Before the treatments began, the participants displayed a measurable negative bias, accurately identifying negative emotions but struggling with positive ones. After six weeks, both treatment groups showed a reduction in this negative bias. The differences between the psilocybin and escitalopram groups were not statistically significant.

Across both groups, participants became less accurate at recognizing negative emotions compared to their baseline scores. They also made fewer errors misclassifying faces as negative. Reaction times for identifying negative and positive emotions improved after the treatments. The researchers noted that patients recognized positive emotions even faster than negative ones at the end of the trial.

Previous brain imaging studies on these same patients showed that the two drugs had different physical effects on the brain. Escitalopram reduced activity in the amygdala, an area involved in processing fear and emotion, when patients viewed faces. Psilocybin did not produce this same dampening effect on amygdala activity. Despite these neurological differences, the behavioral outcomes on the emotional recognition task were remarkably similar.

The researchers then looked for links between these cognitive changes and overall depression symptoms. They measured depression severity using a standard self-report questionnaire at the six-week mark. At this concurrent time point, the reduction in negative emotional bias did not correlate with a drop in depression scores for either group.

The team followed up with the patients one month after the trial ended, at the ten-week mark. For the patients who took escitalopram, a decrease in misclassifying positive faces as negative at six weeks predicted lower depression scores at ten weeks. This aligns with the theory that SSRIs slowly improve mood as patients experience the world through a less negative lens.

This longitudinal relationship did not appear in the psilocybin group. The reduction in negative bias at six weeks did not predict better depression scores at ten weeks for these patients. The lack of correlation suggests that while psilocybin does alter emotional processing, its fast-acting antidepressant effects might rely on other psychological or neurological mechanisms.

The researchers noted several limitations to their experimental design. The trial did not include a pure inactive placebo group that received no active medication at all. Without a strict control group, it is difficult to completely separate the chemical effects of the drugs from the psychological support provided during the trial.

There was likely an inadvertent sample bias among the volunteers. Patients who sign up for clinical trials involving psychedelics often hold a strong preference for receiving psilocybin over traditional daily medications. This preference could influence how they respond to the respective treatments and how they report their symptoms.

Future studies will need to incorporate active placebo groups to better manage the blinding process in psychedelic research. Researchers also plan to measure emotional processing much earlier in the treatment timeline. Assessing patients within days of taking psilocybin could reveal how quickly these cognitive shifts occur compared to traditional medications.

Both treatments successfully shifted how patients interpreted emotional information, highlighting a shared cognitive outcome. The exact pathway from altered perception to mood improvement remains an active area of investigation. The study, “Negative affective bias in depression following treatment with psilocybin or escitalopram – a secondary analysis from a randomized trial,” was authored by Marieke A. G. Martens, Bruna Giribaldi Cunha, David Erritzoe, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris, and Catherine J. Harmer.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-and-standard-antidepressants-both-shift-the-brain-away-from-negative/

-------------------------------------------------

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

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-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsilocybinDepression #NegativeAffectiveBias #EmotionalProcessing #PsilocybinVsSSRI #Escitalopram #MoodDisorderTreatment #FacialExpressionRecognition #OxfordResearch #TranslationalPsychiatry #DepressionResearch

DATE: September 20, 2026 at 09:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Psilocybin and standard antidepressants both shift the brain away from negative biases

URL: https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-and-standard-antidepressants-both-shift-the-brain-away-from-negative/

Psilocybin and standard antidepressants both reduce the brain’s tendency to view the world through a negative lens. The findings suggest both drugs might relieve depression by shifting how the brain processes emotional information, though they may achieve this through different timelines. The research was published in Translational Psychiatry.

Depression involves more than just a persistently low mood. It affects how people perceive reality on a subconscious level. People with major depressive disorder often exhibit a negative affective bias, meaning they tend to interpret ambiguous or even positive social cues as negative. They might look at a neutral facial expression and perceive anger or sadness.

According to cognitive models of depression, this skewed perception plays a fundamental role in maintaining the illness. When people constantly interpret their social environment as hostile or rejecting, it reinforces their depressed mood. Breaking this cycle is a primary goal of psychiatric intervention.

Traditional treatments like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, known as SSRIs, aim to correct this imbalance. Medications such as escitalopram often take several weeks to produce noticeable improvements in a patient’s mood. Researchers believe this delay happens because the drugs first shift the brain’s emotional processing bias. Patients then need time to interact with their environment and experience positive social feedback before their overall mood lifts.

In recent years, psychiatric researchers have explored psychedelic compounds as alternative treatments for depression. Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic ingredient in magic mushrooms. Clinical trials indicate that psilocybin can alleviate depressive symptoms much faster than traditional daily pills, but it remains unknown exactly how the compound changes cognitive functions to achieve this rapid relief.

A team led by Marieke A. G. Martens, a psychiatry researcher at the University of Oxford, designed a study to compare the cognitive effects of both drugs. The team included Robin Carhart-Harris and Catherine J. Harmer, among other researchers. They wanted to see if psilocybin works through the same emotional processing pathways as conventional antidepressants.

The study involved 59 patients diagnosed with long-standing, moderate-to-severe depression. The researchers randomly assigned these participants into two separate groups for a six-week trial. They conducted the study under double-blind conditions, meaning neither the patients nor the clinicians knew which full treatment protocol any individual received.

The first group received two 25-milligram doses of psilocybin spaced three weeks apart. These patients also took an inactive placebo pill every day for the six weeks. The second group received a daily dose of the SSRI escitalopram for the entire six-week period. To maintain the blind design, this second group also received two tiny one-milligram doses of psilocybin, which acted as a placebo during the dosing sessions.

Medication was only one component of the treatment protocol. Both groups received identical psychological support throughout the trial. This included preparatory sessions before receiving the psychedelic doses. Therapists also provided integration sessions afterward to help patients process their hallucinogenic experiences.

To measure emotional processing, the researchers used a computer-based assessment called the Facial Expression Recognition Task. Participants completed this task at the beginning of the trial and again at the six-week mark. During the test, patients viewed images of human faces flashing on a screen for half a second.

The faces displayed one of six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, or surprise. The researchers morphed these images to display varying intensities of emotion, ranging from completely neutral to full intensity. Participants had to identify the emotion shown on each face as quickly and accurately as possible using a keyboard.

Before the treatments began, the participants displayed a measurable negative bias, accurately identifying negative emotions but struggling with positive ones. After six weeks, both treatment groups showed a reduction in this negative bias. The differences between the psilocybin and escitalopram groups were not statistically significant.

Across both groups, participants became less accurate at recognizing negative emotions compared to their baseline scores. They also made fewer errors misclassifying faces as negative. Reaction times for identifying negative and positive emotions improved after the treatments. The researchers noted that patients recognized positive emotions even faster than negative ones at the end of the trial.

Previous brain imaging studies on these same patients showed that the two drugs had different physical effects on the brain. Escitalopram reduced activity in the amygdala, an area involved in processing fear and emotion, when patients viewed faces. Psilocybin did not produce this same dampening effect on amygdala activity. Despite these neurological differences, the behavioral outcomes on the emotional recognition task were remarkably similar.

The researchers then looked for links between these cognitive changes and overall depression symptoms. They measured depression severity using a standard self-report questionnaire at the six-week mark. At this concurrent time point, the reduction in negative emotional bias did not correlate with a drop in depression scores for either group.

The team followed up with the patients one month after the trial ended, at the ten-week mark. For the patients who took escitalopram, a decrease in misclassifying positive faces as negative at six weeks predicted lower depression scores at ten weeks. This aligns with the theory that SSRIs slowly improve mood as patients experience the world through a less negative lens.

This longitudinal relationship did not appear in the psilocybin group. The reduction in negative bias at six weeks did not predict better depression scores at ten weeks for these patients. The lack of correlation suggests that while psilocybin does alter emotional processing, its fast-acting antidepressant effects might rely on other psychological or neurological mechanisms.

The researchers noted several limitations to their experimental design. The trial did not include a pure inactive placebo group that received no active medication at all. Without a strict control group, it is difficult to completely separate the chemical effects of the drugs from the psychological support provided during the trial.

There was likely an inadvertent sample bias among the volunteers. Patients who sign up for clinical trials involving psychedelics often hold a strong preference for receiving psilocybin over traditional daily medications. This preference could influence how they respond to the respective treatments and how they report their symptoms.

Future studies will need to incorporate active placebo groups to better manage the blinding process in psychedelic research. Researchers also plan to measure emotional processing much earlier in the treatment timeline. Assessing patients within days of taking psilocybin could reveal how quickly these cognitive shifts occur compared to traditional medications.

Both treatments successfully shifted how patients interpreted emotional information, highlighting a shared cognitive outcome. The exact pathway from altered perception to mood improvement remains an active area of investigation. The study, “Negative affective bias in depression following treatment with psilocybin or escitalopram – a secondary analysis from a randomized trial,” was authored by Marieke A. G. Martens, Bruna Giribaldi Cunha, David Erritzoe, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris, and Catherine J. Harmer.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-and-standard-antidepressants-both-shift-the-brain-away-from-negative/

-------------------------------------------------

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsilocybinDepression #NegativeAffectiveBias #EmotionalProcessing #PsilocybinVsSSRI #Escitalopram #MoodDisorderTreatment #FacialExpressionRecognition #OxfordResearch #TranslationalPsychiatry #DepressionResearch

DATE: September 11, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Escitalopram reduces anger and irritability in premenstrual dysphoric disorder, study finds

URL: https://www.psypost.org/escitalopram-reduces-anger-and-irritability-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-study-finds/

A study conducted in Sweden exploring the effects of escitalopram (20 mg per day) given during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle found that it is effective in reducing the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It was particularly effective in reducing irritability and anger. Aggressiveness also diminished moderately as a result of the treatment. The paper was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

The menstrual cycle is a recurring series of hormonal and physical changes that prepares the female reproductive system for a possible pregnancy. It is usually divided into four main phases: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. During these phases, changing levels of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone influence the ovaries, uterus, and many other systems in the body.

Many women notice physical or emotional changes in the days before menstruation, a group of symptoms commonly referred to as premenstrual symptoms. For some women, however, these symptoms are much more severe and can significantly interfere with everyday life, work, relationships, and general well-being. This more serious condition is known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD.

PMDD typically appears during the late luteal phase, in the week or two before menstruation. Symptoms usually improve shortly after bleeding begins. Common emotional symptoms include marked irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, mood swings, and feelings of being overwhelmed. Difficulties with concentration, motivation, and sleep can also occur. The disorder can come with physical symptoms as well. These can include fatigue, breast tenderness, bloating, headaches, and changes in appetite.

Study author Manon Dubol and her colleagues investigated the impact of treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle on the symptoms of PMDD. They were particularly interested in reactive aggression, an impulsive, emotional response to a perceived threat or provocation. SSRIs are antidepressant medications that increase the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. They are a mainstream treatment for depression.

The study was conducted at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. Study participants were 62 women with regular menstrual cycles who met diagnostic criteria for PMDD. Their average age was 34 years. Most were married or cohabiting, employed, and well-educated. On average, they reported experiencing PMDD symptoms for 11 years. Over 75% of them reported being previously treated for PMDD.

Participating women were randomly divided into two groups (33 in one group, 29 in the other). One group was to receive 20 mg of escitalopram per day for up to 15 days in the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. The other received a placebo during the same period. Escitalopram is a widely used SSRI. It was delivered in the form of tablets. Escitalopram and placebo tablets were identical and used the same packaging and labeling. Participants were not told which treatment they were receiving.

Participants used a smartphone application to complete the Daily Record of Severity of Problems, an assessment of PMDD symptoms. Participants were considered to suffer from PMDD if their symptoms recorded in this way increased at least by 50% in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase, and if the symptoms were at least mild. The change in these symptoms was the primary outcome study authors observed. The secondary outcomes were specific groups of PMDD symptoms: depressed mood, anxiety, affective lability (mood swings, sensitivity, being easily hurt), and irritability and anger.

Study authors also used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technique that maps brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow, to capture participants’ neural reactions to aggression-related stimuli. To invoke aggression in participants, study authors used the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm. This task measures aggression by letting participants earn points or retaliate by subtracting points from a supposed opponent who periodically takes points from them (retaliation at one’s own expense is taken as an indicator of aggression). Participants also completed a self-report assessment of aggression before and after the treatment (the Revised Swedish Version of the Aggression Questionnaire).

Results showed that participants who received escitalopram treatment had lower PMDD symptom scores after treatment compared to the placebo group. Their depression, affective lability, and irritability or anger scores were also lower. The decrease was the strongest in irritability and anger. The escitalopram group also showed moderately diminished self-reported aggression after treatment, though behavioral aggression measured by the experimental point-subtraction task did not change.

Further analyses showed that reductions in irritability and anger might be partly mediating the observed decrease in self-reported aggression. Analysis of the neuroimaging data indicated that the escitalopram group showed lower reactivity to provocation (in the experimental task) in the anterior insula, a region of the brain involved in threat detection. The activation in this area was associated with irritability or anger.

“This randomized controlled trial provides timely confirmation of escitalopram as an effective treatment for PMDD within a contemporary clinical context and using prospective daily symptom ratings. Functional neuroimaging suggests that modulation of serotonergic function in PMDD is related to corticolimbic circuits involved in irritability or anger and interpersonal behavior,” study authors concluded.

The study contributes to the scientific knowledge about the effects of escitalopram for treating PMDD. However, study authors report that they found no association between the self-reported irritability/anger and aggression scores derived from the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, raising questions about the sensitivity and validity of this experimental task in this population.

The paper, “Escitalopram and brain reactivity to aggressive stimuli in premenstrual dysphoric disorder,” was authored by Manon Dubol, Maria Gröndal, Felix Schmidt, Patrick M. Fisher, Vibe Gedsoe Frokjaer, Johan Wikström, Elias Eriksson, Inger Sundstrøm, and Erika Comasco.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/escitalopram-reduces-anger-and-irritability-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-study-finds/

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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PMDD #Escitalopram #Irritability #AngerReduction #SSRIs #MenstrualHealth #PremenstrualDysphoricDisorder #BrainImaging #fMRI #MentalHealthResearch

DATE: September 11, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Escitalopram reduces anger and irritability in premenstrual dysphoric disorder, study finds

URL: https://www.psypost.org/escitalopram-reduces-anger-and-irritability-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-study-finds/

A study conducted in Sweden exploring the effects of escitalopram (20 mg per day) given during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle found that it is effective in reducing the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It was particularly effective in reducing irritability and anger. Aggressiveness also diminished moderately as a result of the treatment. The paper was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

The menstrual cycle is a recurring series of hormonal and physical changes that prepares the female reproductive system for a possible pregnancy. It is usually divided into four main phases: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. During these phases, changing levels of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone influence the ovaries, uterus, and many other systems in the body.

Many women notice physical or emotional changes in the days before menstruation, a group of symptoms commonly referred to as premenstrual symptoms. For some women, however, these symptoms are much more severe and can significantly interfere with everyday life, work, relationships, and general well-being. This more serious condition is known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD.

PMDD typically appears during the late luteal phase, in the week or two before menstruation. Symptoms usually improve shortly after bleeding begins. Common emotional symptoms include marked irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, mood swings, and feelings of being overwhelmed. Difficulties with concentration, motivation, and sleep can also occur. The disorder can come with physical symptoms as well. These can include fatigue, breast tenderness, bloating, headaches, and changes in appetite.

Study author Manon Dubol and her colleagues investigated the impact of treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle on the symptoms of PMDD. They were particularly interested in reactive aggression, an impulsive, emotional response to a perceived threat or provocation. SSRIs are antidepressant medications that increase the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. They are a mainstream treatment for depression.

The study was conducted at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. Study participants were 62 women with regular menstrual cycles who met diagnostic criteria for PMDD. Their average age was 34 years. Most were married or cohabiting, employed, and well-educated. On average, they reported experiencing PMDD symptoms for 11 years. Over 75% of them reported being previously treated for PMDD.

Participating women were randomly divided into two groups (33 in one group, 29 in the other). One group was to receive 20 mg of escitalopram per day for up to 15 days in the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. The other received a placebo during the same period. Escitalopram is a widely used SSRI. It was delivered in the form of tablets. Escitalopram and placebo tablets were identical and used the same packaging and labeling. Participants were not told which treatment they were receiving.

Participants used a smartphone application to complete the Daily Record of Severity of Problems, an assessment of PMDD symptoms. Participants were considered to suffer from PMDD if their symptoms recorded in this way increased at least by 50% in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase, and if the symptoms were at least mild. The change in these symptoms was the primary outcome study authors observed. The secondary outcomes were specific groups of PMDD symptoms: depressed mood, anxiety, affective lability (mood swings, sensitivity, being easily hurt), and irritability and anger.

Study authors also used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technique that maps brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow, to capture participants’ neural reactions to aggression-related stimuli. To invoke aggression in participants, study authors used the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm. This task measures aggression by letting participants earn points or retaliate by subtracting points from a supposed opponent who periodically takes points from them (retaliation at one’s own expense is taken as an indicator of aggression). Participants also completed a self-report assessment of aggression before and after the treatment (the Revised Swedish Version of the Aggression Questionnaire).

Results showed that participants who received escitalopram treatment had lower PMDD symptom scores after treatment compared to the placebo group. Their depression, affective lability, and irritability or anger scores were also lower. The decrease was the strongest in irritability and anger. The escitalopram group also showed moderately diminished self-reported aggression after treatment, though behavioral aggression measured by the experimental point-subtraction task did not change.

Further analyses showed that reductions in irritability and anger might be partly mediating the observed decrease in self-reported aggression. Analysis of the neuroimaging data indicated that the escitalopram group showed lower reactivity to provocation (in the experimental task) in the anterior insula, a region of the brain involved in threat detection. The activation in this area was associated with irritability or anger.

“This randomized controlled trial provides timely confirmation of escitalopram as an effective treatment for PMDD within a contemporary clinical context and using prospective daily symptom ratings. Functional neuroimaging suggests that modulation of serotonergic function in PMDD is related to corticolimbic circuits involved in irritability or anger and interpersonal behavior,” study authors concluded.

The study contributes to the scientific knowledge about the effects of escitalopram for treating PMDD. However, study authors report that they found no association between the self-reported irritability/anger and aggression scores derived from the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, raising questions about the sensitivity and validity of this experimental task in this population.

The paper, “Escitalopram and brain reactivity to aggressive stimuli in premenstrual dysphoric disorder,” was authored by Manon Dubol, Maria Gröndal, Felix Schmidt, Patrick M. Fisher, Vibe Gedsoe Frokjaer, Johan Wikström, Elias Eriksson, Inger Sundstrøm, and Erika Comasco.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/escitalopram-reduces-anger-and-irritability-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-study-finds/

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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PMDD #Escitalopram #Irritability #AngerReduction #SSRIs #MenstrualHealth #PremenstrualDysphoricDisorder #BrainImaging #fMRI #MentalHealthResearch

DATE: September 11, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
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TITLE: Escitalopram reduces anger and irritability in premenstrual dysphoric disorder, study finds

URL: https://www.psypost.org/escitalopram-reduces-anger-and-irritability-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-study-finds/

A study conducted in Sweden exploring the effects of escitalopram (20 mg per day) given during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle found that it is effective in reducing the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It was particularly effective in reducing irritability and anger. Aggressiveness also diminished moderately as a result of the treatment. The paper was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

The menstrual cycle is a recurring series of hormonal and physical changes that prepares the female reproductive system for a possible pregnancy. It is usually divided into four main phases: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. During these phases, changing levels of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone influence the ovaries, uterus, and many other systems in the body.

Many women notice physical or emotional changes in the days before menstruation, a group of symptoms commonly referred to as premenstrual symptoms. For some women, however, these symptoms are much more severe and can significantly interfere with everyday life, work, relationships, and general well-being. This more serious condition is known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD.

PMDD typically appears during the late luteal phase, in the week or two before menstruation. Symptoms usually improve shortly after bleeding begins. Common emotional symptoms include marked irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, mood swings, and feelings of being overwhelmed. Difficulties with concentration, motivation, and sleep can also occur. The disorder can come with physical symptoms as well. These can include fatigue, breast tenderness, bloating, headaches, and changes in appetite.

Study author Manon Dubol and her colleagues investigated the impact of treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle on the symptoms of PMDD. They were particularly interested in reactive aggression, an impulsive, emotional response to a perceived threat or provocation. SSRIs are antidepressant medications that increase the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. They are a mainstream treatment for depression.

The study was conducted at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. Study participants were 62 women with regular menstrual cycles who met diagnostic criteria for PMDD. Their average age was 34 years. Most were married or cohabiting, employed, and well-educated. On average, they reported experiencing PMDD symptoms for 11 years. Over 75% of them reported being previously treated for PMDD.

Participating women were randomly divided into two groups (33 in one group, 29 in the other). One group was to receive 20 mg of escitalopram per day for up to 15 days in the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. The other received a placebo during the same period. Escitalopram is a widely used SSRI. It was delivered in the form of tablets. Escitalopram and placebo tablets were identical and used the same packaging and labeling. Participants were not told which treatment they were receiving.

Participants used a smartphone application to complete the Daily Record of Severity of Problems, an assessment of PMDD symptoms. Participants were considered to suffer from PMDD if their symptoms recorded in this way increased at least by 50% in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase, and if the symptoms were at least mild. The change in these symptoms was the primary outcome study authors observed. The secondary outcomes were specific groups of PMDD symptoms: depressed mood, anxiety, affective lability (mood swings, sensitivity, being easily hurt), and irritability and anger.

Study authors also used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technique that maps brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow, to capture participants’ neural reactions to aggression-related stimuli. To invoke aggression in participants, study authors used the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm. This task measures aggression by letting participants earn points or retaliate by subtracting points from a supposed opponent who periodically takes points from them (retaliation at one’s own expense is taken as an indicator of aggression). Participants also completed a self-report assessment of aggression before and after the treatment (the Revised Swedish Version of the Aggression Questionnaire).

Results showed that participants who received escitalopram treatment had lower PMDD symptom scores after treatment compared to the placebo group. Their depression, affective lability, and irritability or anger scores were also lower. The decrease was the strongest in irritability and anger. The escitalopram group also showed moderately diminished self-reported aggression after treatment, though behavioral aggression measured by the experimental point-subtraction task did not change.

Further analyses showed that reductions in irritability and anger might be partly mediating the observed decrease in self-reported aggression. Analysis of the neuroimaging data indicated that the escitalopram group showed lower reactivity to provocation (in the experimental task) in the anterior insula, a region of the brain involved in threat detection. The activation in this area was associated with irritability or anger.

“This randomized controlled trial provides timely confirmation of escitalopram as an effective treatment for PMDD within a contemporary clinical context and using prospective daily symptom ratings. Functional neuroimaging suggests that modulation of serotonergic function in PMDD is related to corticolimbic circuits involved in irritability or anger and interpersonal behavior,” study authors concluded.

The study contributes to the scientific knowledge about the effects of escitalopram for treating PMDD. However, study authors report that they found no association between the self-reported irritability/anger and aggression scores derived from the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, raising questions about the sensitivity and validity of this experimental task in this population.

The paper, “Escitalopram and brain reactivity to aggressive stimuli in premenstrual dysphoric disorder,” was authored by Manon Dubol, Maria Gröndal, Felix Schmidt, Patrick M. Fisher, Vibe Gedsoe Frokjaer, Johan Wikström, Elias Eriksson, Inger Sundstrøm, and Erika Comasco.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/escitalopram-reduces-anger-and-irritability-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-study-finds/

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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PMDD #Escitalopram #Irritability #AngerReduction #SSRIs #MenstrualHealth #PremenstrualDysphoricDisorder #BrainImaging #fMRI #MentalHealthResearch

Ganz ehrlich, #Escitalopram absetzen, selbst ganz langsam ausschleichen, ist echt nicht fein. Mein ganzer Körper fühlt sich an wie unter Strom... ☹️

#Depression #AntiDepressiva

Ganz ehrlich, #Escitalopram absetzen, selbst ganz langsam ausschleichen, ist echt nicht fein. Mein ganzer Körper fühlt sich an wie unter Strom... ☹️

#Depression #AntiDepressiva

Ganz ehrlich, #Escitalopram absetzen, selbst ganz langsam ausschleichen, ist echt nicht fein. Mein ganzer Körper fühlt sich an wie unter Strom... ☹️

#Depression #AntiDepressiva

Ganz ehrlich, #Escitalopram absetzen, selbst ganz langsam ausschleichen, ist echt nicht fein. Mein ganzer Körper fühlt sich an wie unter Strom... ☹️

#Depression #AntiDepressiva

https://www.europesays.com/at/248484/ Creatin als Antidepressivum: Gemischte Studienlage, aber wichtiges Sicherheitssignal #AT #ATP #Austria #Bipolar #Brain #CBT #ClinicalTrial #Creatine #Depression #Energy #Escitalopram #Gehirn #Geist #Gesundheit #Gut #Health #Mania #Neurologie #Neuroscience #Neurowissenschaften #Österreich #Safety #Supplement

#DailyLog 30. April 2025
It was not a bad day. I expected worse. Work went OK'ish, even though there is a lot to do. And I got two yesterday's sweet pastries for free as the bakery was closing in few minutes and had a bag with them from yesterday (they try to sell those for cheaper one day later). But I should probably go to sleep before "almost 4AM". I kinda miss the first few weeks of #escitalopram when I was "unusally" sleepy before midnight.

#DailyLog 30. April 2025
It was not a bad day. I expected worse. Work went OK'ish, even though there is a lot to do. And I got two yesterday's sweet pastries for free as the bakery was closing in few minutes and had a bag with them from yesterday (they try to sell those for cheaper one day later). But I should probably go to sleep before "almost 4AM". I kinda miss the first few weeks of #escitalopram when I was "unusally" sleepy before midnight.

#DailyLog 30. April 2025
It was not a bad day. I expected worse. Work went OK'ish, even though there is a lot to do. And I got two yesterday's sweet pastries for free as the bakery was closing in few minutes and had a bag with them from yesterday (they try to sell those for cheaper one day later). But I should probably go to sleep before "almost 4AM". I kinda miss the first few weeks of #escitalopram when I was "unusally" sleepy before midnight.

#DailyLog 30. April 2025
It was not a bad day. I expected worse. Work went OK'ish, even though there is a lot to do. And I got two yesterday's sweet pastries for free as the bakery was closing in few minutes and had a bag with them from yesterday (they try to sell those for cheaper one day later). But I should probably go to sleep before "almost 4AM". I kinda miss the first few weeks of #escitalopram when I was "unusally" sleepy before midnight.

Antidepressant escitalopram boosts amygdala activity https://www.psypost.org/antidepressant-escitalopram-boosts-amygdala-activity/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #antidepressant #escitalopram #amygdala #emotionalprocessing #mentalhealth

Antidepressant escitalopram boosts amygdala activity https://www.psypost.org/antidepressant-escitalopram-boosts-amygdala-activity/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #antidepressant #escitalopram #amygdala #emotionalprocessing #mentalhealth

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00378-X/fulltext Effect of psilocybin versus escitalopram on depression symptom severity in patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder: observational 6-month follow-up of a phase 2, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial (Erritzoe et al, 2024) #psilocybin #psychedelictherapy #antidepressant #depression #psychedelics #psychedelicresearch #mentalhealth #psychedelicmentalhealth #escitalopram #neuroscience #fda

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00378-X/fulltext Effect of psilocybin versus escitalopram on depression symptom severity in patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder: observational 6-month follow-up of a phase 2, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial (Erritzoe et al, 2024) #psilocybin #psychedelictherapy #antidepressant #depression #psychedelics #psychedelicresearch #mentalhealth #psychedelicmentalhealth #escitalopram #neuroscience #fda

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00378-X/fulltext Effect of psilocybin versus escitalopram on depression symptom severity in patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder: observational 6-month follow-up of a phase 2, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial (Erritzoe et al, 2024) #psilocybin #psychedelictherapy #antidepressant #depression #psychedelics #psychedelicresearch #mentalhealth #psychedelicmentalhealth #escitalopram #neuroscience #fda

https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj-2023-078607 Comparative oral monotherapy of psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ayahuasca, and escitalopram for depressive symptoms: systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis (Hsu, et al, 2024) — What a missed opportunity to test oral #ketamine as a control #psychedelic #psychedelics #psilocybin #lsd #ayahausca #depression #mentalhealth #psychedelicresearch #escitalopram #mdma

https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj-2023-078607 Comparative oral monotherapy of psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ayahuasca, and escitalopram for depressive symptoms: systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis (Hsu, et al, 2024) — What a missed opportunity to test oral #ketamine as a control #psychedelic #psychedelics #psilocybin #lsd #ayahausca #depression #mentalhealth #psychedelicresearch #escitalopram #mdma

https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj-2023-078607 Comparative oral monotherapy of psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ayahuasca, and escitalopram for depressive symptoms: systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis (Hsu, et al, 2024) — What a missed opportunity to test oral #ketamine as a control #psychedelic #psychedelics #psilocybin #lsd #ayahausca #depression #mentalhealth #psychedelicresearch #escitalopram #mdma

Effects of #escitalopram on synaptic density in the healthy human brain: a randomized controlled trial

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02285-8

#neuroscience #neuroplasticity

Effects of #escitalopram on synaptic density in the healthy human brain: a randomized controlled trial

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02285-8

#neuroscience #neuroplasticity

Effects of #escitalopram on synaptic density in the healthy human brain: a randomized controlled trial

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02285-8

#neuroscience #neuroplasticity

Tomo Escitalopram para la depresión e hidroxizina para la ansiedad, pero me cuesta "despertar", o sea no levantarme de la cama o prepararme para el trabajo. Es solo que pareciera un robot. Ayer ya no tomé la hidroxizina. A ver si cambia la cosa. #depresión #saludmental #escitalopram

Tomo Escitalopram para la depresión e hidroxizina para la ansiedad, pero me cuesta "despertar", o sea no levantarme de la cama o prepararme para el trabajo. Es solo que pareciera un robot. Ayer ya no tomé la hidroxizina. A ver si cambia la cosa. #depresión #saludmental #escitalopram

Tomo Escitalopram para la depresión e hidroxizina para la ansiedad, pero me cuesta "despertar", o sea no levantarme de la cama o prepararme para el trabajo. Es solo que pareciera un robot. Ayer ya no tomé la hidroxizina. A ver si cambia la cosa. #depresión #saludmental #escitalopram

I'm currently tapering off my #lexapro / #escitalopram and I'm at a funny stage where I'm starting to get side-effects again, because the gaps between pills are long enough for my brain to dry out somewhat.