Effects Of Antidepressants on Emotional Processing

Do Antidepressants Alter Emotional Processing in PTSD? 05/03/2010.  These clinical experiences suggest that SSRIs may alter emotional processing in PTSD patients not unlike that seen with reboxetine in depressed patients. (1) Although there are potential alternative explanations for the aforementioned clinical observations (e.g., improvements in anger in PTSD patients may be one aspect of a general SSRI-induced emotional dampening [2] and improvement in anger might be a manifestation of a global improvement in PTSD), the timing of the improvements (i.e., early in treatment) and the reports of altered perception of external events are reminiscent of Harmer et. al's findings. It may be that changes in emotional processing by antidepressants play a role in the treatment of PTSD just as they appear to do in depression. American Journal of Psychiatry