Benzodiazepines (BZDs) give rise to memory impairments. It has been questioned whether or not these impairments are related to the drug's sedative, alertness-reducing effects. Therefore, in this study, alertness was reduced in healthy subjects both pharmacologically (15 mg diazepam) and non-pharmacologically (24-h sleep deprivation, SD) in order to assess whether these manipulations both gave rise to memory impairments. Twelve subjects were tested using a repeated measures cross-over design. Drug administration was placebo- controlled and double-blind. A subjective alertness reduction was established after diazepam intake and even more after SD. Additionally, performance-disruptive effects were found on psychomotor tasks after both SD and diazepam intake. However, only diazepam, and not SD, impaired delayed recall of a word list and recall of paired associates. Thus a reduction in alertness, i.e. sedation, cannot fully account for BZD-induced memory impairments.
Beck AT, Ward C., Mendelson M., Mock J., Erbaugh J. (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Archs Gen Psychiat4: 561-571
2.
Bond A., Lader M. (1974) The use of analogue scales in rating subjective feelings. Br J Med Psychol47: 211-221
3.
Borbély A.A. (1986) New techniques for the analysis of the human sleep-wake cycle. Brain Dev8: 482-488
4.
Curran H.V. (1986) Tranquillising memories: a review of the effects of benzodiazepines on human memory. Biol Psychol23:179-213
5.
Curran H.V. (1991) Benzodiazepines, memory and mood: a review. Psychopharmacology105: 1-8
6.
Curran H.V., Schiwy W., Lader M. (1987) Differential amnesic properties of benzodiazepines: a dose-response comparison of two drugs with similar elimination half-lives . Psychopharmacology92: 358-364
7.
Curran H.V., Schifano F., Lader M. (1991) Models of memory dysfunction ? A comparison of the effects of scopolamine and lorazepam on memory, psychomotor performance and mood. Psychopharmacology103: 83-90
8.
De Groot A. (1980) Mondelinge woordassociatienormen [Norms of spoken word associates]. Swets and Zeitlinger, Lisse
9.
Elkin A.J., Murray D.J. (1974) The effects of sleep loss on short-term recognition memory. Can J Psychol28:192-198
10.
File S.E. (1992) A comparison of the effects of a secondary task and lorazepam on cognitive performance. J Psychopharmac6: 258-264
11.
Frith C. (1991) Has neurochemistry told us anything about human memory? In Weinman J, Hunter J (eds), Memory: neurochemical and abnormal perspectives. Harwood Academic Publishers, Chur, pp. 129-138
12.
Frith CD (1992) Consciousness, information processing and the brain . J Psychopharmac6: 436-440
13.
Frith C.D., RichardsonT.E., Samuel M., CrowTJ, McKenna PJ (1984) The effects of intravenous diazepam and hyoscine upon human memory. Q J Exp Psychol36A: 133-144
14.
Frith C., Dowdy J., Ferrier I.N., Crow TJ ( 1985) Selective impairment of paired associate learning after administration of a centrally-acting adrenergic agonist (clonidine). Psychopharmacology87: 490-493
15.
Ghoneim M.M., Mewaldt S.P. (1975) Effects of diazepam and scopolamine on storage, retrieval and organizational processes in memory. Psychopharmacologia44: 257-262
16.
Gorissen M., Eling P., van Luijtelaar G., Coenen A. (1995) Effects of diazepam on encoding processes. J Psychopharmac9:113-121
17.
Hockey R. (1984) Varieties of attentional state: The effects of environment. In Parasuraman R, Davies DR (eds), Varieties of attention. Academic Press, NewYork, pp.449-483
18.
Horne JA, Östberg O. (1976) A self-assessment questionnaire to determine morningness-eveningness in human circadian rhythms. Int J Chronobiol4: 97-110
19.
Hudson P.T. (1983) Preliminary category norms for verbal items in 51 categories in Dutch. Internal Report, University of Nijmegen
20.
Johnson L.C. (1982) Sleep deprivation and performance. In Webb W B (ed.), Biological rhythms, sleep, and performance. John Wiley, New York, pp. 111-141
21.
King D.J. (1992) Benzodiazepines, amnesia and sedation: theoretical and clinical issues and controversies. Hum Psychopharmac7: 79-87
22.
Koelega M. (1989) Benzodiazepines and vigilance performance: a review . Psychopharmacology98:145-156
23.
Linnoila M., Guthrie S., Lister R. (1986) Mechanisms of drug-induced impairment of driving . In O'Hanlon J F, de Gier JJ (eds), Drugs and driving. Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 29-49
24.
Mewaldt S.P., Hinrichs J.V., Ghoneim M.M. (1983) Diazepam and memory: support for a duplex model of memory. Mem Cogn11: 557-564
25.
Monk T H (ed.) (1991) Sleep, sleepiness and performance. John Wiley, New York
26.
Nilsson L., Bäckman L., Karlsson T. (1989) Priming and cued recall in elderly, alcohol intoxicated and sleep deprived subjects: a case of functionally similar memory deficits . Psychol Med19: 423-433
27.
Polster M.R. (1993) Drug-induced amnesia: implications for cognitive neuropsychological investigations of memory. Psychol Bull114: 477-493
28.
Polzella D.J. (1975) Effects of sleep deprivation on short-term recognition memory. J Exp Psychol: Hum Learn Mem104: 194-200
29.
Preston G.C., Broks P., Traub M., Ward C., Poppleton P., Stahl S.M. (1988) Effects of lorazepam on memory, attention and sedation in man. Psychopharmacology95: 208-215
30.
Preston G.C.,Ward C.E., Broks P.,Traub M., Stahl S.M. (1989) Effects of lorazepam on memory, attention and sedation in man: antagonism by Ro 15-1788. Psychopharmacology97: 222-227
31.
Rich J.B., Brown, G.G. (1992) Selective dissociations of sedation and amnesia following ingestion of diazepam. Psychopharmacology106: 346-350
32.
Roehrs TA, Merlotti L., Zorick F., Roth T. ( 1994) Sedative, memory, and performance effects of hypnotics . Psychopharmacology116: 130-134
33.
Roth T., Roehrs TA, Carskacton M.A., Dement W.C. (1989) Day time sleepiness and alertness. In Kryger M, Roth T, Dement W C (eds), Principles and practice of sleep medicine. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, pp.14-23
34.
RothT., RoehrsTA, Stepanski E.J., Rosenthal L. (1990) Hypnotics and behavior. Am J Med88: 43S-46S
35.
Rusted J.M., Eaton-Williams P., Warburton D.M. (1991) A comparison of the effects of scopolamine and diazepam on working memory. Psychopharmacology105: 442-445
36.
Spijkers W. (1980) Slaapdeprivatie en taakprestaties: een literatuuroverzicht. [Sleep deprivation and performance: A review]Ned Tijdschr Psychol35:151-172
37.
Thayer RE (1986) Activation-deactivation adjective check list: current overview and structural analysis. Psychol Rep58: 607-614
38.
Thayer R.E. (1989) The biopsychology of mood and arousal. Oxford University Press, New York
39.
Tiplady B. (1995) The psychopharmacology of attention. Hum Psychopharmac5: 89-109
40.
Uit den Boogaart P C (ed.) (1975) Woordfrequentie in geschreven en gesproken Nederlands [Word frequency of written and spoken Dutch]. Oosthoek, Scheltema and Holkema , Utrecht
41.
Van den Hoofdakker RH (1994) Chronobiological theories of nonseasonal affective disorders and their implications for treatment. J Biol Rhythm2: 157-183
42.
Van Loon-Vervoorn WA (1985) Voorstelbaarheidswaarden van Nederlandse woorden [Imagery norms of Dutch words]. Swets and Zeitlinger, Lisse
43.
Wald F D M, Mellenbergh G.J. (1990) Instrumenteel onderzoek: de verkorte versie van de Nederlandse vertaling van de Profile of Mood States (POMS) [The shortened version of the Dutch Profile of Mood States]. Ned Tijdschr Psychol45: 86-90
44.
Weingartner H., Eckhardt M., Molchan S., Sunderland T., Wolkowitz O. (1992) Neuropsychological factors in mental disorders and their treatments. Psychopharmac Bull28: 331-340
45.
Weingartner H.J., Sirocco K., Rawlings R., Joyce E., Hommer D. (1995) Dissociations in the expression of the sedative effects of triazolam. Psychopharmacology119: 27-33
46.
Wu J.C., Bunney W.E. (1990) The biological basis of an antidepressant response to sleep deprivation and relapse: review and hypothesis. Am J Psychiat147:14-20
