Abstract
The acute behavioural effects of triazolam (0.125 and 0.25 mg), temazepam (15 and 30 mg), and placebo, alone and in combination with ethanol (0 and 0.5 g/kg), were assessed in 10 volunteers. Ethanol alone did not impair performance and produced only a few subject-rated drug effects. Triazolam and temazepam alone produced some performance impairment and a few subject-rated drug effects. These effects tended to be dose-dependent and were comparable for the two drugs across the range of doses tested. The triazolam–ethanol and temazepam–ethanol combinations produced robust performance impairment and sedative-like subject-rated drug effects that were similar in magnitude. The findings of the present study suggest that even a moderate amount of ethanol in combination with a clinical dose of triazolam or temazepam can cause performance impairment that might diminish an individual's ability to respond adequately to unexpected demands (e.g. smoke alarms or middle-of-the-night child care).
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