Cognitive side effects of anticonvulsants

The increasing use of anticonvulsant drugs in psychiatry has prompted great er awareness of their effects on a range of psychiatric domains, including cognition. Older versus newer antiepileptic drugs have been reported to eit her worsen or enhance cognitive performance in clinical populations, and th e extent to which cognitive disturbances may reflect iatrogenic factors ver sus psychopathology is subject to debate. We review current information abo ut the role of anticonvulsants in cognition, with particular emphasis on ne wer compounds (such as lamotrigine, gabapentin, and topiramate), the cognit ive dimensions of affective illness, and the clinical approach to evaluatin g cognition in psychiatric patients taking anticonvulsant drugs over time.