ABSTRACT
Behavioral performance testing, subsuming neuropsychological assessments and evaluation of real-life skills, is a clinically applicable and objective approach to the measurement of the effects of antihypertensive medications on cognitive or behavioral functioning. This chapter reviews the literature on the application of such assessments to the determination of behavioral effects of antihypertensive medications and discuss the principal findings in relation to clinical issues in the treatment of hypertension. The nature of many of the symptoms reported by persons receiving antihypertensive medications imply actions within the central nervous system (CNS). Elucidation of the psychological and CNS effects of antihypertensive medications requires research efforts utilizing objective testing of behavioral performance. The chapter presents a compilation of the available information on the performance effects of antihypertensive medications, and attempt to discern patterns of findings. Investigator-controlled studies, in contrast, involve the manipulation of antihypertensive therapy in randomized controlled trials, with testing typically conducted both before and after active medication or placebo.
