Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27807605›Full record

Trial reportPsychopharmacology2017

Learning to experience side effects after antidepressant intake - Results from a randomized, controlled, double-blind study.

Julia Rheker, Alexander Winkler, Bettina K Doering, Winfried Rief

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Therapeutic Potential ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2019
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Neural responses to cues paired with methamphetamine in healthy volunteers.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2018
    Article
  17. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Julia RhekerDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany. julia.rheker@staff.uni-marburg.de.
Alexander WinklerDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
Bettina K DoeringDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
Winfried RiefDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
Philipps University of Marburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSide effects play a key role in patients' failure to take antidepressants. There is evidence that verbal suggestions and informed consent elicit expectations that can in turn trigger the occurrence of side effects. Prior experience or learning mechanisms are also assumed to contribute to the development of side effects, although their role has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we examined whether an antidepressant's side effects can be learned via Pavlovian conditioning.

methodsParticipants (n = 39) were randomly allocated to one of two groups and were exposed to a classical conditioning procedure. During acquisition, 19 participants received amitriptyline and 20 participants received a placebo pill. Pills were taken for four nights together with a novel-tasting drink. After a washout phase, both groups received a placebo pill together with the novel-tasting drink (evocation). Side effects were assessed via the Generic Assessment of Side Effects Scale prior to acquisition (baseline), after acquisition, and after evocation. A score of antidepressant-specific side effects was calculated.

resultsParticipants taking amitriptyline reported significantly more antidepressant-specific side effects after acquisition compared to both baseline and the placebo group. After evocation, participants who underwent the conditioning procedure with amitriptyline reported significantly more antidepressant-specific side effects than those who never received amitriptyline, even though both groups received a placebo.

conclusionsOur results indicate that antidepressant side effects can be learned using a conditioning paradigm and evoked via a placebo pill when applied with the same contextual factors as the verum.

Indexed as

Conditioning, ClassicalNocebo EffectAdultAmitriptylineAntidepressive AgentsCardiovascular DiseasesDepressive DisorderDizzinessDouble-Blind MethodFatigueFemaleHumansLearningMaleMultivariate AnalysisXerostomiaAmitriptylineAntidepressive AgentsAntidepressantsLearningNoceboSide effects

Identifiers

PMID27807605
PMCPMC5225191
OpenAlexW2546588364

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.