title: Effects of oxazepam on affective perception, recognition, and event-related potentials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about how rapid electrocortical responses (event-related potentials; ERPs) to affective pictures are modulated by benzodiazepine agonists. The present study investigated effects of oxazepam (20 mg p.o.) on behavioral measures and ERPs associated with affective picture processing during perception and recognition memory retrieval.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-three healthy young adults were given oxazepam or placebo treatment under a double-blind experimental procedure. Affective pictures (negatively arousing or neutral) elicited ERP responses and participants rated pictures for emotionality (during incidental encoding) and recognition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Oxazepam did not affect perceptual (P1, P2) or emotional (early posterior negativity and late parietal positivity) ERPs or ratings during perception. However, oxazepam impaired recognition performance and decreased positive mid-frontal ERP component at 420-450 ms for old vs. new pictures. The memory impairment was retained at the delayed memory test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oxazepam does not selectively influence electrocortical or perceptual indexes of emotional perception or emotional memory. Rather, it blocks memory consolidation independent of valence category. These findings indicate that ERPs can be of use in assessing effects of benzodiazepines on memory-related processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden. jonas.olofsson@psychology.su.se
authors.forename: Jonas K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Olofsson
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gospic
authors.forename: Predrag
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Petrovic
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ingvar
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wiens
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010076:Oxazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D010076:Oxazepam