High-dose naloxone affects task performance in normal subjects.
Increasing intravenous doses of naloxone (0.3 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, and 2 mg/kg) were administered to normal subjects. Naloxone at 2 mg/kg, but not at lower doses, impaired aspects of memory as measured by a verbal learning task which assessed the direct free recall and recognition of presented versus non-presented words of a single category (effortful processing) and the monitoring of the frequency of such presentations (automatic processing). At the same time "working" memory was left unaffected. The results suggest a role for the opioid system in some memory processes in man.
D000328:Adult; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects*; D009270:Naloxone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011957:Receptors, Opioid / Q000187:drug effects; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000187:drug effects*
D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D009270:Naloxone