Medicine that Might Affect a Person's Personality
Medicine that Might Affect a Person’s Personality
Over a decade ago researchers at the University of California-San
Francisco reported changes in personality that they described as the first
controlled study showing that a prescription drug could change a component
of a person’s personality. The study, conducted in a small group
of mentally healthy men and women, evaluated the popular drug paroxetine
(Paxil). Last month in Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers led by
a professor at Northwestern University indicate that this same medication
taken by a much larger group than was evaluated in the study at the
University of California, not only showed that it helped relieve depression
in persons diagnosed with depression, it appeared to make these
individuals more outgoing.
The more recent study, which was published last month in the journal
Archives of General Psychiatry, reported results seen in 240 adults with
a major depressive disorder, who were divided into 3 groups. Those who
received paroxetine were reported to be less neurotic and more extroverted
than those in the other two groups.