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Performance effects of diazepam during and after prolonged administration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Lee Brosan ,
Donald Broadbent ,
David Nutt  and
Margaret Broadbent
Lee Brosan
Affiliation:
Departments of Experimental Psychology and of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Donald Broadbent*
Affiliation:
Departments of Experimental Psychology and of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
David Nutt
Affiliation:
Departments of Experimental Psychology and of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Margaret Broadbent
Affiliation:
Departments of Experimental Psychology and of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Donald E. Broadbent, Department of Experimental Psychology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD.
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Synopsis

Seven volunteers received diazepam for a 3-week period, maximum dose rate 25 mg per day, and were tested on a variety of functions before, at two points during, and at two points after the period. Their performance was compared with that of 8 controls and was inferior on a number of measures. There was no indication either of habituation or of potentiation of the effects as the period continued. Equally, the low performance persisted for some time after administration ceased, although performance was on the whole better than during the experimental period. The particular measures showing deterioration suggested that the effects are similar to those of barbiturates as opposed to those of, for example, chlorpromazine.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , August 1986 , pp. 561 - 571
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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