October 12, 2025

expert reaction to non peer-reviewed abstract on a brain test predicting sexual dysfunction in those treated with SSRIs for depression

A non-peer reviewed abstract presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress in Amsterdam looks at a brain test that predicts sexual dysfunction for those on antidepressants. 

Dr Sameer Jauhar, Clinical Associate Professor in Affective Disorders and Psychosis, Imperial College London, said:

“The premise of this study is certainly interesting. For anyone looking after the care of people who take SSRIs, sexual dysfunction is something we should all be aware of, as it is quite common, occurring in around 40-70% of people, varying by drug.

“The hypothesis is scientifically sound-higher central serotonin pre-treatment is associated with more sexual dysfunction when someone takes an SSRI, which will increase central serotonin further, i.e. increasing serotonin levels further cause sexual dysfunction.

“The study is novel, but there are clear caveats.

“The measure is not a direct measure of serotonin activity-it is not measuring it in the way we generally measure neurotransmitters in the brain, i.e. through molecular imaging, such as PET.

“The associations observed are certainly in the right direction- the predictive accuracy of the measure-over 80% is very high, and will require clarification in a peer-reviewed publication, as sometimes smaller sample sizes can inflate this, and it needs validation in another dataset.

“Ideally one would conduct this study in people taking an SSRI or placebo/non SSRI if we are to accurately comment on the effects of modulating serotonin.

“Until we see this in a peer-reviewed publication I would be slightly hesitant in interpretation.

“Nonetheless, the premise is interesting, and it should encourage people to study this important side-effect in more detail.”

‘Serotonergic activity estimated by EEG loudness-dependent auditory evoked potentials as a predictor of SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction’ by G.D. Ketilsdottir et al. was presented at the ECNP Congress, taking place in Amsterdam and online 11-14^th October 2025 (https://www.ecnp.eu/congress2025/).

This was under embargo until 23:05 UK time Sunday 12th October.

Declared interests

Dr Sameer Jauhar: Dr Jauhar reported personal fees from Recordati, LB Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Wellcome Trust, Lundbeck, Janssen, and Sunovion, and non-financial support from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, British Association for Psychopharmacology, and Royal College of Psychiatrists.