Doxepin and hydroxyzine in treating anxiety: effects of failure and motivation on cognitive performance

The effects of doxepin and hydroxyzine on the cognitive performance of 60 patients with anxiety were compared under different levels of experimentally induced motivation and experience of success or failure. Both drugs reduced the inhibiting effects of failure on concept learning. The combination of high motivation and failure interfered more with the performance of control patients than the drug groups. The cognitive facilitation effects of doxepin were most pronounced in the low motivation-failure condition, while hydroxyzine yielded superior performance in both success and failure conditions, regardless of motivation level.