Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40336355›Full record

Trial reportPsychological medicine2025

A single dose of lamotrigine induces a positive memory bias in healthy volunteers.

Tarek Zghoul, Pilar Artiach Hortelano, Alexander Kaltenboeck, Lucy Wright, Guy M Goodwin, Liliana P Capitão, Catherine J Harmer

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychological medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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

7 authors.

Tarek ZghoulDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Pilar Artiach HortelanoDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Alexander KaltenboeckDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Lucy WrightDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Guy M GoodwinDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Liliana P CapitãoPsychological Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0003-3117-5156
Catherine J HarmerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1609-8335

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLamotrigine has been shown to be effective in the long-term treatment and relapse prevention of depression in bipolar disorder. However, the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying these effects are unclear. We investigated the effects of lamotrigine on a battery of emotional processing tasks in healthy volunteers, previously shown to be sensitive to antidepressant drug action in similar experimental designs.

methodsHealthy volunteers (n = 36) were randomized in a double-blind design to receive a single dose of placebo or 300 mg lamotrigine. Mood and subjective effects were monitored throughout the study period, and emotional processing was assessed using the Oxford Emotional Test Battery (ETB) 3 hours post-administration.

resultsParticipants receiving lamotrigine showed increased accurate recall of positive versus negative self-descriptors, compared to those in the placebo group. There were no other significant effects on emotional processing in the ETB, and lamotrigine did not affect ratings of mood or subjective experience.

conclusionsLamotrigine did not induce widespread changes in emotional processing. However, there was increased positive bias in emotional memory, similar to the effects of antidepressants reported in previous studies. Further work is needed to assess whether similar effects are seen in the clinical treatment of patients with bipolar disorder and the extent to which this is associated with its clinical action in relapse prevention.

Indexed as

EmotionsMemoryMental RecallTriazinesAdultAffectDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansLamotrigineMaleNeuropsychological TestsYoung AdultLamotrigineTriazinesbipolar disorderemotional cognitionexperimental medicinelamotriginememory

Identifiers

PMID40336355
PMCPMC12094615

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Registered trials

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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.