Amitriptyline- and mianserin-induced changes in acquisition of paired-association learning-task

1 The double-blind study on twenty healthy students was an attempt at assessing the effects of 2-week's treatment with amitriptyline (25 mg three times a day) and mianserin (10 mg three times a day), each alone or separatively inbibed with alcohol (0.5 g/kg) on the immediate memory and on the acquisition of a paired-association learning-task. 2 Amitriptyline impaired both the short-term memory-span and acquisition, and alcohol potentiated these effects. The action of mianserin did not deviate significantly from that of the placebo, and it also failed to interact with alcohol. 3 It is concluded that the decrement in learning capacity, that occurs after the 2-week's treatment with therapeutic doses of amitriptyline, reflects changes in both the intrinsic and the regulatory mechanisms of learning.