Anxiolytic, antidepressant, and hypnotic effects on the accuracy and speed of accessing information from episodic memory

Abstract

The use of anxiolytics, antidepressants, and hypnotics to alleviate minor symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia in the absence of any major disease has become extremely common. However, the effects of these medications are not completely understood. The aim of the present study was to examine the potential effects of these drugs on episodic memory, the ability to remember our personal experiences. In this study, we employed a computerized task that allowed us to measure recollection and recognition accuracy and speed within episodic memory. The participants’ ages ranged from 21 to 80 years; 87 of whom had taken exclusively anxiolytics, 94 had taken only antidepressants, and 36 had taken only hypnotics at some time in their lives but had not taken them for at least six months. These groups were compared with individuals who had never taken any of these medications and were matched by sex, age, and years of education. Recollection accuracy was lower in anxiolytics and antidepressants users compared with nonusers. In addition, we found that the longer and more frequently these drugs were taken, the worse recollection became. Recollection, one of the most essential memory processes to preserve autonomous everyday living, is affected by the consumption of anxiolytics and antidepressants, and this occurs across all ages in the adult life span.