How does depression affect intelligence?

Depression doesn’t just get in the way of being happy. It can also interrupt your ability to think. It hampers your attention, memory and decision-making abilities. You may find that your executive functions are limited, so you begin having trouble seeing your way through issues.

Do antidepressants impact memory?

Tricyclic antidepressants may increase the risk of memory problems in some people. Similarly, a 2016 analysis found that people taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) also experienced a decline in memory function within 8 weeks of starting treatment.

Some depressions seem to leave intelligence unimpaired, but usually the effect is a marked decrease, at the time, in performance and “fluid intelligence”. The ability to make decisions is severely reduced. Cognition can feel fuzzy, imprecise, and slow.

How does depression affect the ability of the brain?

The ability of your brain in terms of potential is relatively static. Brain damage causes a permanent decrease in intelligence. In general education means an increase in brain matter and intelligence. What depression does is decrease your active command of any ability that you do have.

Can treating depression increase your IQ?

For a little insight, this study tested the IQ of depressed people and found that those who were treated for their depression performed better. It doesn’t complete the full picture but it’s a good starting point to be able to say, “okay, so if I’m depressed and I treat it, then my IQ scores will probably improve”.

Why doesn’t education decrease intelligence?

It doesn’t decrease intelligence, because that metric is measured by how well your brain does under ideal conditions. The ability of your brain in terms of potential is relatively static. Brain damage causes a permanent decrease in intelligence. In general education means an increase in brain matter and intelligence.