
This may sometimes include a flat affect, which has confused experts for decades because the two conditions are very different. Research shows an overlap in symptoms between schizophrenia and autism.

In this case, the reviewers were taking either:

In a 2017 study that examined 3,243 user reviews of antidepressants from three health websites, 41% of reviews reported negative emotional and behavioral effects, including a flat affect. Antidepressant medicationsĬertain medications, like antidepressants, can cause a flat affect. While a flat affect is most commonly associated with symptoms of schizophrenia, this isn’t the only explanation for it. More specifically, certain parts of your brain, like the sensorimotor system or the amygdala, may be underactive compared with people who don’t have a flat affect.

While researchers don’t know the exact cause of a flat affect, it may be related to brain chemistry.
