title: Behavioral analysis of diazepam-induced memory deficits: evidence for sedation-like effects.
abstract: Rats were trained on a nonmatching-to-sample task with delays of 2, 5, and 10 min. Subsequently, performance was assessed in three groups of rats following treatment with saline or diazepam (2.0 mg/kg) administered acutely or tested chronically in six administrations. Relative to treatment with saline, diazepam produced a deficit in discrimination performance, which was greater in the acutely treated rats than in those treated chronically. The deficit was not dependent on the length of the delays. Diazepam-treated animals differed from controls in erring on trials in which they failed to investigate both test objects, failed to investigate the test object for a long enough period of time, and displaced the test object on the preferred side of the apparatus. The hypothesis that these effects represented a sedation-like reduction in behavioral variability was also supported by evidence of a diazepam-induced decrease in gross bodily activity, increase in inactivity, and increase in latencies to respond to objects. No support was found for the involvement of diazepam-induced changes in habituation, extinction, or reward effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kalynchuk
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000523:psychology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D003975:Diazepam