Key result
Administration of a single 20 mg dose of citalopram suppressed the differences in heart rate responses to differently valent images compared to placebo.
Why the study?
Does a single dose of citalopram modulate the heart rate response to emotional stimuli in healthy participants?
RCT (n=16)
Does a single dose of citalopram modulate the heart rate response to emotional stimuli in healthy participants?
Acute administration of an SSRI suppresses cardiovascular reactivity to emotional visual stimuli in healthy individuals.
Single-dose citalopram blunts differential heart rate responses to emotional images; extends evidence for acute SSRI effects on autonomic reactivity.
A key component in visceral reactivity to emotional states is heart rate (HR), however little is known about how HR response to emotional stimuli is modulated by neurochemicals. The present study investigated the way in which acute enhancement of serotonin (5-HT) function with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) modulates the HR associated with differently valent images (pleasant, neutral, unpleasant). Sixteen healthy participants viewed 75 images whilst HR was recorded. Participants were tested under two single-dose treatment conditions: placebo and citalopram (20 mg). Our findings suggest: (1) HR is able to differentiate differently valent images during placebo treatment and, (2) administration of citalopram suppresses the differences in HR between differently valent images. These results suggest that 5-HT may modulate the cardiovascular HR response to visual emotional stimuli and indicate that 5-HT may have a protective effect on the cardiovascular responses to emotional stimuli.
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Kemp et al. (2004) conducted an RCT in Healthy (n=16). Citalopram vs. Placebo was evaluated on Heart rate (HR) response to differently valent images. Administration of a single 20 mg dose of citalopram suppressed the differences in heart rate responses to differently valent images compared to placebo.
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