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Abstract:
Relations between benzodiazepine (BZ) cognitive and Event
Related Potential (ERP-P3) effects have seldom been investigated.
In the present independent group-design, double-blind study of
single oral doses of BZ, 60 healthy volunteers were randomly
allocated to 5 treatments: 0.6mg, 0.8mg, and 1.0mg of Flunitrazepam
(F), a standard BZ, 2.0mg of Lorazepam (L), an atypical BZ that
impairs repetition priming, and placebo (P). Subjects were tested
prior to treatment administration and at peak absorption of BZ. The
oddball paradigms was used and 15 target tones free of EOG and
movement artefacts were measured with replication. Latency of P3
was studied at midfrontal (FZ), midcentral (CZ) and midparietal
(PZ) scalp locations, as well as immediate and delayed recall of
prose, cancellation test (CT), digit symbol substitution test
(DSST), and a visual analogue scale through which subjects reported
levels of arousal. The pattern of results on ERP differed from
those in the cognitive and arousal measures, 2.0 mg of L having a
smaller effect on the former and tending to be more deleterious on
the latter than all doses of F. Cognitive impairment did not
correlate with P3 measures. Financial support: AFIP, FAPESP,
CNPq.
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