THE BEHAVIORAL TOXICITY OF REVERSIBLE INHIBITORS OF MONOAMINE-OXIDASE-A - LABORATORY AND CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Measuring the effect of an antidepressant on performance tests of psyc homotor ability and cognitive processing is important in order to obta in an objective assessment of its psychotropic activity. It is also es sential to identify potential interference with everyday activities su ch as driving, operating machinery, and performing domestic tasks and to assess the extent to which central nervous system side effects may compound the cognitive and psychomotor impairment resulting from depre ssive illness. Older compounds such as amitriptyline impair performanc e on these tests, whereas the newer antidepressant moclobemide appears to have no effect. What remains to be clarified is whether these test s are predictive of the behavioral side effects that may occur in depr essed patients.