Effects of nortriptyline on memory self-assessment and performance in recovered elderly depressives

The effects of nortriptyline (NTL) on memory were compared with those of placebo (PBO), in elderly subjects after recovery from a major depression. Subjective and objective memory was assessed using a repeated-measures discontinuation design. Average immediate, but not delayed, free recall, on a 20-item selective reminding test was adversely affected by medication. Free recall on placebo was stable over four learning trials and at delay. A different pattern of responses occurred on nortriptyline: Performance dropped off significantly on learning Trial 2, remained worse than placebo through Trial 4, but improved after a 15-min delay. Performance on measures of immediate and delayed recognition memory were comparable on nortriptyline and placebo. Discontinuation of nortriptyline resulted in significant improvement on a subset of nine memory self-assessment items. On questions addressing ability to retrieve recently learned information, subjects reported the greatest improvement while on placebo compared with nortriptyline.