Effect of an Anticholinergic Antidepressant on Sleep-dependent Memory

977 Antidepressant and Memory Consolidation—Goerke et al. INTRODUCTION Growing evidence suggests that there is a close association between sleep and memory consolidation.1–3 Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is thought to play a role in the memory consolidation process, particularly with regard to procedural memory—the memory of skills and habits.4–6 Many antidepressants, however, strongly suppress REM sleep,7 and procedural memory consolidation has been shown to be impaired in depressed patients who are undergoing antidepressant therapy.8,9 In light of these findings, it seems reasonable to ask whether antidepressive therapy can lead to amnestic impairment, especially considering that antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed class of medications in the United States.10 Suppressing REM sleep with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluvoxamine or the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) reboxetine did not impair overnight consolidation of a REM sleep-dependent procedural memory task (mirror tracing) in healthy young subjects.11 EFFECT OF AN ANTICHOLINERGIC ANTIDEPRESSANT ON SLEEP-DEPENDENT MEMORY