Neuropsychological Functioning in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Short-Term Paroxetine Treatment

A previous study found improvements in verbal declarative memory in patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following one year of open-label paroxetine treatment. The purpose of the present study was to replicate prior findings and to extend the previous study by comparing the effects of paroxetine versus placebo on cognition in patients with PTSD. Methods: Eighteen participants with PTSD underwent assessment of neuropsychological function, following which they were randomized to receive controlled-release (CR) paroxetine or placebo, given in a variable dose in a double-blind manner for three months. Neuropsychological testing was then repeated. Subjects who had received placebo were then treated with open-label paroxetine CR and re-assessed. Results: Paroxetine CR treatment resulted in a significant increase in verbal declarative memory function in the group as a whole, as measured by the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, the Selective Reminding Test, and novel paragraph recall, and explicit recall of neutral words. Although we found patterns of improved test performance with paroxetine versus placebo treatment, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: These findings replicate an earlier finding that open label treatment with paroxetine CR is associated with improvements in verbal declarative memory function. The current study did not show a statistically significant difference between the effects of paroxetine and placebo on memory function, which may in part be related to our small sample size. Psychopharmacology Bulletin. 2009;42(1):53-68.