title: Acute participant-rated and behavioral effects of alprazolam and buspirone, alone and in combination with ethanol, in normal volunteers.
abstract: The acute behavioral effects of buspirone (15 and 30 mg/70 kg), alprazolam (0.75 and 1.5 mg/70 kg), and placebo, alone and in combination with ethanol (0-0.6 g/kg), were tested in 13 volunteers. Ethanol alone produced only a few significant behavioral effects. Alprazolam and buspirone produced comparable dose-related increases in participant ratings of sedation, but only alprazolam impaired performance. The buspirone-ethanol and alprazolam-ethanol combinations produced robust sedative-like participant-related drug effects that were similar in magnitude, but, in general, only the alprazolam-ethanol combinations impaired performance. These findings suggest that the participant-rated effects of therapeutic doses of buspirone in combination with moderate doses of ethanol are similar to those of therapeutic doses of alprazolam in combination with ethanol, but the performance-impairing effects of buspirone are distinguishable from those of alprazolam, alone and in combination with ethanol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA. crush@fiona.umsmed.edu
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Griffiths
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects; D000525:Alprazolam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001519:Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D001944:Breath Tests; D002065:Buspirone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; D002065:Buspirone; D000525:Alprazolam