Antidepressant drugs and psychomotor performance. A review

Nearly all antidepressants are tested psychometrically in order to detect side effects of these drugs. Based on a review of the relevant published data on critical flicker fusion frequency measurements, simple reaction time, complex reaction time, tracking, tapping, and car driving simulation measurements, the underlying principles of the different effects of these drugs in healthy volunteers are discussed. It seems that essentially the sedative properties of a compound are important rather than e.g. specific reuptake inhibiting properties or the chemical structure. This finding is discussed in the light of the usefulness of these test procedures for detecting side effects.