THE COMPARATIVE PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY OF 5HT REUPTAKE INHIBITORS

The psychopharmacological profiles of the 5HT reuptake inhibitors sertraline, paroxetine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, Jouveinal (JO 1017) and zimeldine are described, and their relative behavioural toxicity ratings are compared. The pharmacodynamic activity of these drugs was assessed using a standardised test battery, including critical flicker fusion threshold (CFF), choice reaction time (CRT), tracking and subjective rating scales. The 5HT reuptake inhibitors were essentially neutral; indistinguishable from placebo on most of the measures. Paroxetine, sertraline and zimeldine produced an alerting effect as indicated by elevated CFF thresholds. The only drug which produced a consistently significant performance decrement with respect to placebo was the amitriptyline verum. These results hold true both for normal volunteers and for patients.