Antidepressants may improve memory and thinking skills, a new study finds.

Researchers found that people on the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro) saw memory improvements.

The study was published last month in Biological Psychiatry and presented Monday at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual meeting in Milan, Italy.

The drug leads to higher levels of serotonin, a “feel good” hormone that can improve mood and ease depression.

“It seems that the SSRI medication contributes to an improvement on cognitive function, at the same time as helping improve mood,” Vibeke Dam, PhD, lead researcher and a senior researcher in neurology and neurobiology with Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, said in a HealthDay article that didn’t specify the ages of study participants.

In the study, investigators conducted brain scans on 90 people who were depressed. They examined how the 5HT4 receptors were working, and also evaluated mood and cognitive abilities. All of the participants then took escitalopram for eight weeks. After that, 40 of the participants were retested and had more brain scans.

Performance on cognitive tests improved, especially the participants’ ability to recall words. Better performance was associated with more 5HT4 receptor activity, the data showed.

“Our work ties the improvement in cognitive function to the specific 5HT4 receptor and suggests that direct serotonin 4 receptor stimulation may be an important pro-cognitive target to consider in optimizing outcomes of antidepressant treatment,” Dam said. “It also reinforces the idea that serotonin is crucial to mood improvement.”

“This work points to the possibility of stimulating this specific receptor so that we can treat cognitive problems, even aside from whether or not the patient has overcome the core symptoms of depression,” Vibe Froekjaer, PhD, another researcher and clinical professor of neuropsychiatry with Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.

Next up, the team wants to give patients medications that target the 5HT4 receptor, and then evaluate how it impacts their brain function. Serotonin also is found in the gut, and some irritable bowel syndrome drugs bind to and stimulate 5HT4 receptors, the researchers noted.