The Phenomenological, Pharmacological and Psychophysiological Characteristics of Neurotic Outpatients to whom no Diagnosis has been Applied

Abstract

240 neurotic outpatients with moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and/or depression were randomly and blindly assigned to four treatment regimes: Amitriptyline, Diazepam, Amitriptyline and Diazepam, Placebo. The patients were rated on a number of scales of anxiety and depression at the beginning and the end of the four week treatment period. In addition psychophysiological measures were taken. In terms of initial symptoms there was no evidence for the separate existence of anxiety states and neurotic depressions. However predominantly depressed patients showed more rapid skin conductance habituation than predominantly anxious patients. There were no differential effects of the different treatment regimes on the different symptoms. Amitripytyline was marginally better than the other treatments for both symptoms of anxiety and depression. The group receiving Diazepam showed no more improvement in symptoms than the group receiving placebo.