title: Differential effects of diazepam and lorazepam on repetition priming in healthy volunteers.
abstract: The effects of two benzodiazepines, diazepam (15 or 20 mg orally) and lorazepam (1.75 or 2.5 mg orally), and a placebo on explicit memory, lexical priming and perceptual priming were assessed using a free-recall, a word-completion and a picture-completion test. The picture-completion test included two different study conditions intended to manipulate the magnitude of the priming effect. Sixty healthy volunteers took part in this double-blind study. Free-recall performances were altered by both drugs. Lorazepam impaired word-completion and picture-completion performance, whereas diazepam only exhibited a deleterious effect on the more sensitive of the two measures of the picture-completion test. These results indicate that the two benzodiazepines have differential amnestic effects. It is suggested that these differential effects could be accounted for by a different cortical distribution of the two benzodiazepines.
authors.affiliation: Clinique Neurologique, Hôpitaux Universitaires, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sellal
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Danion
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kauffmann-Muller
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grangé
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Imbs
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van der Linden
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Singer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D008140:Lorazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D008140:Lorazepam; D003975:Diazepam