Antidepressants can have mixed effects on intellect: they primarily treat depression's cognitive impairments (like poor focus and memory) but can cause short-term cognitive side effects (like fogginess) or, rarely, long-term issues, though research suggests they don't permanently lower intelligence and may even improve some functions like attention and memory, with effects varying by medication, individual, and severity of depression. The benefits of treating severe depression often outweigh potential risks, but monitoring is key.
Medications with anticholinergic effects, including amitriptyline, doxepin, paroxetine, and nortriptyline among others, can block muscarinic receptors causing impairment in various cognitive functions, including memory, executive function, and processing speed.
Antidepressants can make you feel less alert or able to concentrate. This can happen especially when you first start taking them. This may affect your ability to drive and to do other skilled tasks.
Antidepressants are a generally safe and effective way to help people with persistent anxiety or depression manage their symptoms. It's a myth that antidepressants will change your personality — your core self won't be affected by the medication.
Another school of thought is that depression and intelligence are related, but depression negatively impacts cognitive function and causes a low IQ score on the test. Researchers hypothesize that depression may cause the following challenges in test takers: Lack of focus. Memory impairment.
Anxiety, Depression, and Intelligence
However, intelligence has drawbacks too. For example, studies have found that higher IQ is associated with more and earlier drug use. Studies have also found that higher IQ is associated with more mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
A decline in physical ability as a person ages can lead to a decrease in performance on IQ tests. Excessive use of drugs and alcohol, as well as degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's, are also associated with the deterioration of cognitive function.
In time, the brain returns to a normal state after stopping antidepressants. If depressive symptoms do arise and gradually worsen, it's best to consult a psychiatrist or doctor if they don't improve within a few weeks or if they become severe.
In fact, one study found that the rate of emotional blunting in patients taking antidepressants was an astounding 46%. This state is described as feeling disconnected from the world and your creative mind.
Some personality changes are specific to certain substances. For example, using illicit stimulants could lead to restlessness, aggression, delusions or anxiety, and depression, while some opioid misuse could cause problems with attention, memory challenges, lack of awareness and coordination, or agitation.
Jim Carrey talks about being on Prozac for a long time and he had to get off at a certain point as he didn't want to be on it indefinitely. “There are peaks, there are valleys,” he said. “But they're all kind of carved and smoothed out, and it feels like a low level of despair you live in.
Antidepressant medication might include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as sertraline. However, while SSRIs can be highly effective when it comes to managing depressive symptoms, they can also have their own side effects, including brain fog.
Results: Our analysis revealed that SSRIs were significantly associated with eye disorders, with a higher risk of vision blurred with escitalopram, angle closure glaucoma with citalopram, and photopsia with paroxetine. The most common eye disorders were vision blurred, visual impairment, mydriasis, etc.
Modafinil is a strong nootropic and a wakefulness-promoting agent widely used to treat ADD and narcolepsy. Many people regard it as the best alternative to Adderall due to its effectiveness and safety. Modafinil boosts cognition, motivation levels and helps in maintaining focus for extended periods of time.
A new study published in Nature Communications suggests that antidepressant use can impact early post-natal brain development.
Symptoms
“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath.
Usage of even microdosage amounts of psilocybin has been shown to improve creative performance.
Studies have shown that depression can reduce cognitive functions, including working memory, long-term memory, decision making and ability to focus.
Intriguingly, these effects occurred without any measurable change in mood, suggesting that antidepressants have an immediate effect on cognition and emotional processing prior to the expected therapeutic response.
The timeline for brain recovery varies, but research suggests it can take from 30 days to several years to fully rewire the brain. Below is a general breakdown: 30-90 Days: The first few months are critical. The brain begins to restore dopamine levels, but cravings and withdrawal symptoms may still be present.
Antidepressants can cause unpleasant side effects. Signs and symptoms such as nausea, weight gain or sleep problems can be common initially. For many people, these improve within weeks of starting an antidepressant. In some cases, however, antidepressants cause side effects that don't go away.
Lady Gaga's IQ is widely rumored to be around 166, placing her in the "exceptionally gifted" or genius category, though this is an estimation often cited in celebrity lists, not a officially verified number from a public test. This high estimate is supported by her early academic achievements, like attending a summer program for the top 1% of students, and her demonstrated creative and musical genius as a composer and performer, notes Us Weekly and Brainmanager.io.
A 72 IQ is considered Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF), falling just above the threshold for intellectual disability (usually around 70), placing it in the lower end of the spectrum (70-79) and indicating slower learning and potential needs for support in daily living, though it's not low enough for an official intellectual disability diagnosis by itself, notes Quora user. It's in the bottom few percentiles of the population, requiring more time to grasp complex concepts but not necessarily severe impairment.
Human research backs this up: a large longitudinal study tracking over 12,000 young people found a strong link between a mother's IQ and her child's cognitive performance. But while genetics play a big role, environment matters too.