| Title | Effects of paroxetine on emotional functioning and treatment awareness: a 4-week randomized placebo-controlled study in healthy clinicians. | | Author(s) | Besnier N, Cassé-Perrot C, Jouve E, Nguyen N, Lançon C, Falissard B, Blin O | | Institution | Pôle de Psychiatrie Adultes-Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Hôpital Sainte Marguerite, 270 bd de Sainte Marguerite, 13009, Marseille, France, nathalie.besnier@ap-hm.fr. | | Source | Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2009 Oct 14. | | Abstract | OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of paroxetine on emotional functioning in three arms: double-blind paroxetine (DBPX), single-blind paroxetine (SBPX), and double-blind placebo (DBPO). Healthy psychologists and psychiatrists were elected for their ability to analyze with correct sensibility changes in their emotions.
METHOD: Thirty nonanxious, nondepressed participants working as psychiatrists (N = 18) or psychologists (N = 12) were randomly assigned to receive an ambulatory treatment with paroxetine (DBPX N = 10, SBPX N = 10) or placebo (DBPO N = 10). Paroxetine was administered for 4 weeks at 20 mg/day. Emotional functioning was evaluated with the Emotional State Questionnaire (ESQ), a self-questionnaire designed to assess four emotional dimensions: "recognition," "expression," "internal emotional experience," and "social context." Changes in emotional measures from baseline to D0, D7, D14, D28, and D42 were compared between treatment groups.
RESULTS: Analyses of ESQ showed in DBPX a significant decrease from baseline to D28 in internal emotional experience as compared to SBPX and DBPO groups. A different influence of gender between treatment groups on emotional recognition was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study assessing the impact of a 4-week paroxetine treatment on emotional functioning in healthy psychiatrists and psychologists. The DBPX group was distinguishable from both SBPX and DBPO groups by a decrease in internal emotional experience, suggesting that two factors could be involved in the clinical response to paroxetine: a decrease in emotional feeling and treatment awareness. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 19826792 |
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