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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

Comparisons of psychomotor performance between the upper and lower extremities in three age groups.

Decreasing speed of foot movement is a serious perceptual-motor impairment for older individuals such as in walking and driving. The present study examined the relationship between age and psychomotor performance for upper vs lower extremities. A visual stimulus was used to measure the speed of finger and foot movement responses, i.e., choice reaction time and total response time. 32 healthy persons, ranging in age from 9 to 75 years, were divided into three groups: ages 9-10, ages 20-30, and age 60 and above. A 3 (age group) x 2 (test: finger vs foot) two-way analysis of variance on converted Z scores indicated a significant effect on age group and an interaction between test and age group. While the elderly group showed poorest over-all performance, their lower extremity response was identified to be relatively slower than their upper-extremity response.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1982

Nomifensine, clobazam and HOE 8476: effects on aspects of psychomotor performance and cognitive ability.

The effects of a combination of nomifensine and clobazam (HOE 8476) were compared, on a variety of psychometric measures, with those of its separate monosubstances in a placebo controlled double-blind study with twelve normal volunteers. Assessments comprised a range of psychomotor performance tests, measures of cognitive processing ability and visual analogue rating scales - previously shown to be sensitive to the effects of psychotropic drugs. Subjects acted as their own control and were tested in the morning and afternoon following subchronic pre-dosing with each of the four treatments. When compared with placebo, nomifensine showed no significant change on any of the performance measures. HOE 8476 produced no significant changes in performance but significantly reduced self-rated anxiety. Clobazam significantly improved subjective ratings of the ease of getting to sleep and impaired choice reaction time and concept identification performance in the morning. No significant changes in the test measures were found in the afternoon following any treatment. The findings were in broad agreement with those of previous studies and demonstrated that clobazam and nomifensine, both alone and in combination, tended not to impair performance on a wide range of psychological test assessments.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of five anxiolytic benzodiazepines on measures of psychomotor performance and sleep.

The behavioural toxicity of five anxiolytic benzodiazepines was examined in 28 volunteers who were studied in two groups of 14 subjects each. Each drug was taken nocte for 7 days, with a 4-week washout period between drugs. Assessments of psychomotor performance and sleep were made the morning following the first administration and the morning following the last administration. Comparisons of drug effect magnitudes using Cohen's d scores suggest that effects on psychological function should be considered as central to the selection and use of such compounds.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The effects of acute and repeated doses of zolpidem on subjective sleep, psychomotor performance and cognitive function in elderly volunteers.

We gave 24 healthy elderly volunteers with a perceived sleep onset of at least 30 minutes zolpidem 5 mg, zolpidem 10 mg, or placebo for 7 days in a double-blind, three-way, crossover study. The morning after nocturnal dosing, psychomotor performance and cognitive ability were measured using tests which are sensitive to the residual effects of hypnotics and to the effects of drugs on various indicators of sleep quality. The tests were: Choice Reaction Time; Tracking; Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold; Memory Scanning; Word Recognition; the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire and Line Analogue Rating Scales. Zolpidem produced a subjective improvement in sleep but did not impair performance the following day. Furthermore, during repeated administration, there was no tolerance to the effects of sleep latency and quality of sleep, nor adverse effects on task performance.

Aged↗

PubMed1985

Residual effects of zopiclone and benzodiazepine hypnotics on psychomotor performance related to car driving.

A double-blind, randomized, cross-over study was carried out in 10 normal healthy volunteers to investigate the residual effects of 7.5 mg zopiclone, 1 mg lormetazepam, 0.25 mg triazolam, 1 mg flunitrazepam and placebo. Tests of psychomotor performance and analogues of car driving ability were administered the morning following night-time medication. Changes with respect to placebo in an information-processing task one hour after taking the medications confirmed the hypnotic efficacy of zopiclone, triazolam and flunitrazepam. Flunitrazepam also produced a significant depression of the Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold (CFF) and increased subjective ratings of sedation one hour after nocturnal dosing. Flunitrazepam impaired the reaction time on the information-processing test the morning following doses of 1 mg.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Ebastine: the effect of a new antihistamine on psychomotor performance and autonomic responses in healthy subjects.

1. Ebastine, through its carboxylic acid metabolite has antihistamine (H1-receptor) activity in man. 2. We have examined in a single blind placebo controlled study the effects of 10 mg and 50 mg of ebastine on cardiovascular, autonomic and psychomotor function in healthy subjects. 3. Ebastine had no effect on blood pressure or heart rate and there was no evidence of any anticholinergic activity on circulatory reflexes or salivation. 4. Ebastine did not impair psychomotor performance as assessed by critical flicker fusion at either dose. 5. Ebastine 10 mg had no effect on sedation measured by visual analogue scale or direct questioning, however ebastine 50 mg did cause a modest increase in indices of sedation. 6. Ebastine did not have detectable sedative properties at the 10 mg dose where long-lasting antihistamine effects can be demonstrated.

Adult↗

PubMed1980

Comparison of effect on psychomotor performance of single doses of propranolol and acebutolol.

Propranolol has recently been shown to produce some impairment of psychomotor performance in human volunteers. This beta-blocking compound, however, is lipophilic and readily penetrates the blood-brain barrier to gain access to the central nervous system. Acebutolol has a lower lipid solubility. A study was carried out, therefore, to compare the psychomotor effect of the two beta-blocking drugs. Any subjectively experienced side-effects were also recorded. Ten healthy volunteers were given single doses of 40 mg propranolol, 100 mg acebutolol and placebo on a random double-blind basis and the effect, if any, on performance was measured using a particularly sensitive complex reaction time technique. Propranolol produced a significant prolongation of complex reaction time when compared with placebo or acebutolol. Acebutolol did not significantly increase complex reaction time over the placebo value. Two subjects reported mild feelings of 'muzziness' after taking propranolol. No side-effects were reported after acebutolol.

Acebutolol↗

PubMed2002

Psychomotor performance of psychiatric inpatients under therapy: assessment by paper and pencil tests.

Fifty psychiatric inpatients included in the study were diagnosed as having substance related disorder, schozophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder or anxiety disorder based on DSM-IV and ICD-10. All the patients were on multiple drug therapy for a minimum of 7 days in the hospital. The psychomotor performance score assessed with the help of the six letter cancellation test and the digit letter substitution test was compared with a matched group of 50 normal volunteers. The significantly low scores for patients may be considered indicative of the fact that prolonged therapy would be required to attain normal psychomotor status. Thus, simple paper and pencil tests may provide valuable information in assessment of psychomotor and cognitive functions of psychiatric patients during recovery.

Adult↗

PubMed1977

Effect of gradually increasing carboxyhaemoglobin saturation on visual perception and psychomotor performance of smoking and nonsmoking subjects.

The effect of gradually increasing COHb saturation on human visuoperceptual and psychomotor performance was studied in 22 nonsmokers and 22 smokers. Each subject performed two sessions in randomized order, one during air breathing and the other during CO breathing on two separate days. Testing and COHb saturation measurement were repeated six times during each session. Gas breathing was between the test periods. The increase of COHb saturation up to 12--13 per cent units had no effect (p greater than 0,05) on perceptual speed and accuracy as measured by the Bourdon--Wiersma test. Finger tapping speed was also unaffected. Visual perception measured with critical flicker frequency (CFF) was sensitive to CO. The gradual increase in COHb saturation caused a linear decrease in CFF in the both groups. An increase of one per cent unit in COHb saturation caused significant decrease in CFF (p less than 0.001), when intraindividual changes were taken into account. During acute exposure to CO there was no difference in any test performance between the groups. During air preathing there was no difference in performance although there was a significant difference (p less than 0,001) in the COHb saturation levels. This negative finding might be due to adaptation of smokers to chronic exposure of CO because of smoking.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Effects of alprazolam on driving ability, memory functioning and psychomotor performance: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Alprazolam is prescribed for the treatment of anxiety and panic disorder. Most users are presumably involved in daily activities such as driving. However, the effects of alprazolam on driving ability have never been investigated. This study was conducted to determine the effects of alprazolam (1 mg) on driving ability, memory and psychomotor performance. Twenty healthy volunteers participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. One hour after oral administration, subjects performed a standardized driving test on a primary highway during normal traffic. They were instructed to drive with a constant speed (90 km/h) while maintaining a steady lateral position within the right traffic lane. Primary performance measures were the Standard Deviation of Lateral Position (SDLP) and the Standard Deviation of Speed (SDS). After the driving test, subjective driving quality, mental effort, and mental activation during driving were assessed. A laboratory test battery was performed 2.5 h after treatment administration, comprising the Sternberg Memory Scanning Test, a Continuous Tracking Test, and a Divided Attention Test. Relative to placebo, alprazolam caused serious driving impairment, as expressed by a significantly increased SDLP (F(1,19) = 97.3, p <.0001) and SDS (F(1,19) = 30.4, p <.0001). This was confirmed by subjective assessments showing significantly impaired driving quality (F(1,19) = 16.4, p <.001), decreased alertness (F(1,19) = 43.4, p <.0001), decreased mental activation (F(1,19) = 5.7, p <.03) and increased mental effort during driving (F(1,19) = 26.4, p <.0001). Furthermore, alprazolam significantly impaired performance on the laboratory tests. In conclusion, alprazolam users must be warned not to drive an automobile or operate potentially dangerous machinery.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Alcohol and triazolam: differential effects on memory, psychomotor performance and subjective ratings of effects.

The effects of alcohol (0.80 g/kg) and the benzodiazepine hypnotic triazolam (0.25 mg/70 kg) were compared directly in a double-dummy, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures design in 18 healthy volunteers. While alcohol (0.80 g/kg) and triazolam (0.25 mg/70 kg) produced comparable levels of psychomotor performance impairment, a dissociation was observed, such that the magnitude of memory impairment (measured by d', participants' sensitivity in discriminating between old and new words in the recognition memory paradigm) was greater with triazolam than with alcohol, whereas subjective ratings of the overall strength of drug effect were higher with alcohol than with triazolam. Participants also adopted a more conservative response bias in the recognition memory paradigm in the alcohol (0.80 g/kg) condition relative to both placebo and triazolam (0.25 mg/70 kg). In addition to characterizing the adverse effects of two widely used psychoactive substances, the present results may also contribute to the understanding of underlying neurochemical mechanisms.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Central effects of fexofenadine and cetirizine: measurement of psychomotor performance, subjective sleepiness, and brain histamine H1-receptor occupancy using 11C-doxepin positron emission tomography.

Histamine H1-receptor (H1R) antagonists, or antihistamines, often induce sedative side effects when used for the treatment of allergic disorders. This study compared the sedative profiles of the second-generation antihistamines, fexofenadine and cetirizine, using 3 different criteria: subjective sleepiness evaluated by the Stanford Sleepiness Scale, objective psychomotor tests (simple and choice reaction time tests and visual discrimination tests at 4 different exposure durations), and measurement of histamine H1-receptor occupancy (H1RO) in the brain. Subjective sleepiness and psychomotor performance were measured in 20 healthy Japanese volunteers at baseline and 90 min after administration of fexofenadine 120 mg or cetirizine 20 mg in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Hydroxyzine 30 mg was included as a positive control. H1RO was measured using positron emission tomography (PET) with (11)C-doxepin in 12 of the 20 subjects, and a further 11 volunteers were recruited to act as controls. In psychomotor tests, fexofenadine was not significantly different from placebo and significantly less impairing than cetirizine on some tasks, as well as significantly less impairing than hydroxyzine on all tasks. For subjective sleepiness, fexofenadine was not significantly different from placebo, whereas cetirizine showed a trend toward increased sleepiness compared with fexofenadine and placebo. H1RO was negligible with fexofenadine (-0.1%) but moderately high with cetirizine (26.0%). In conclusion, fexofenadine 120 mg is distinguishable from cetirizine 20 mg, as assessed by H1RO and psychomotor testing.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The effects of paroxetine, alone and in combination with alcohol on psychomotor performance and cognitive function in the elderly.

Fifteen healthy male volunteers aged over 60 years received acute and repeated doses of paroxetine 20 mg or placebo, and acute doses of lorazepam 1 mg (as a positive internal control) with or without alcohol (0.6 g/kg of body weight) administered openly in a double blind balanced crossover study in which each subject acted as his own control. Psychomotor performance and cognitive function were assessed using a test battery which included critical flicker fusion, choice reaction time, compensatory tracking, Stroop and memory scanning tests. Subjective ratings of mood and sleep were recorded using line analogue rating scales. The pattern of results indicated that paroxetine had little or no effect on most of the test variables, and in some instances (critical flicker fusion thresholds) improved information processing ability. This was in marked contrast to the lorazepam verum which produced sedation and disruption of performance. Paroxetine had a slight antagonistic effect on alcohol induced sedation whereas impairment of performance with lorazepam was potentiated by co-administration of alcohol. The low behavioural toxicity of paroxetine in elderly volunteers has important implications for the pharmacotherapy of depression.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

A dose-ranging study of the effects of mequitazine on actual driving, memory and psychomotor performance as compared to dexchlorpheniramine, cetirizine and placebo.

BACKGROUND: Mequitazine is a so-called 'non-sedative' second-generation antihistamine even though it has never been firmly established that this drug's sedative potential actually differs from that of the 'sedative' first-generation antihistamines. OBJECTIVE: The present study compares the sedative effects of three doses of mequitazine on actual driving, psychomotor performance and memory with those of a first- and a second-generation antihistamine. METHODS: Eighteen healthy volunteers received on separate days a single dose of 5, 10 and 15 mg mequitazine, 10 mg cetirizine, 6 mg dexchlorpheniramine and placebo. Drug effects were assessed using two actual driving tests (highway-driving test and car-following test), cognitive and psychometric tests (tracking, divided attention, memory, reasoning and critical flicker fusion), pupil size and questionnaires. RESULTS: Highway-driving data revealed an overall effect of Treatment on the standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP). Dexchlorpheniramine impaired driving performance as indicated by a significant rise in SDLP. Mequitazine significantly increased SDLP in a dose-related manner, but the separate dose effects failed to reach statistical significance. Divided attention performance was also affected by Treatment. Reaction time (RT) during mequitazine treatments increased in a dose-related manner and significantly differed from placebo at the highest dose. Subjects reported to be less alert after treatment with dexchlorpheniramine. Cetirizine did not affect performance in any of the tasks. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that mequitazine is mildly sedating. The effects of mequitazine are comparable to those of other second-generation antihistamines, in that it causes mild driving impairment, particularly at higher doses.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Psychomotor performance during initial stage of exposure to halothane, enflurane, isoflurane and sevoflurane in mice.

1. The dose-response relationship during the pre-anaesthetic and pre-equilibrium state of four inhalation anaesthetics (halothane, enflurane, isoflurane and sevoflurane) on fixed-ratio schedule-controlled behaviour was studied in mice. 2. Animals exposed to halothane, enflurane and isoflurane showed a biphasic pattern (i.e. a significant incremental increase in psychomotor responses at low inspired concentrations (0.1-0.4%) and decrements at greater concentrations) in a dose-dependent manner. Mean peak responses (per cent of control) were 132.3 (P < 0.01 vs control), 124.0 (P < 0.05) and 116.7% (P < 0.05) at 0.1% halothane, 0.3% enflurane and 0.2% isoflurane, respectively. 3. Sevoflurane did not increase schedule-controlled behavioural responses at any concentration. 4. The effect of subanaesthetic concentrations of inhalation anaesthetics on psychomotor performance can be evaluated as changes in the response rate in schedule-controlled behaviour.

Anesthetics, Inhalation↗

PubMed2003

Reliability of a computerized assessment of psychomotor performance and its sensitivity to alcohol-induced impairment.

Two experiments examined a new computerized pursuit rotor task that measured psychomotor performance. Exp. 1 examined the acquisition and reliability of performance of 25 adults who performed the task on two sessions separated by a 2-wk. interval. Exp. 2 was a placebo-controlled test of task sensitivity to the performance-impairing effects of a 0.65 g/kg dose of alcohol. Exp. 1 showed that participants' performance was reliable over time. Exp. 2 showed that alcohol-impaired performance compared with placebo. The task could be useful for evaluating performance-impairing effects of other CNS depressant drugs, as well as complementing assessment batteries for research and instruction in studies of motor learning and human performance.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Effects of the novel 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibitor indalpine and ethanol on psychomotor performance.

Twelve healthy male volunteers were treated double-blind and cross-over with 4-(3-indolyl-2-ethyl)piperidine (indalpine), a selective 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake inhibitor with antidepressant and anxiolytic properties, and placebo for two weeks. Soon after starting the treatment with indalpine (50 mg/d) they felt subjectively mild sedative-like effects which were abolished when retested after two weeks' maintenance (150 mg/d). Objectively measured psychomotor performance (coordinative and reactive skills, standing steadiness, nystagmus, flicker recognition) was not, however, affected by indalpine. The only adverse effect attributable to indalpine was ejaculatory dysfunction which was spontaneously reported by 67% of the subjects. When alcohol (1 g/kg) was administered during the treatment periods most tests showed impairment. However, indalpine neither enhanced nor counteracted the effects of alcohol in this trial.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Repeated-dose effects of mequitazine, cetirizine and dexchlorpheniramine on driving and psychomotor performance.

AIMS: Previous studies have demonstrated that the antihistamines mequitazine, cetirizine and dexchlorpheniramine produce mild sedation after single doses. It is unknown, however, whether acute sedation persists after repeated dosing. Therefore, this study assessed the effects of repeated dosing of these antihistamines on driving and psychomotor performance. METHODS: Sixteen healthy volunteers were treated with mequitazine 10 mg q.a.m., cetirizine 10 mg q.a.m., dexchlorpheniramine Repetab 6 mg b.i.d. and placebo for four separate 8-day periods. Drug effects were assessed on days 1 and 8 using on-the-road driving tests (highway driving and car following), psychomotor tests (tracking and divided attention) and subjective questionnaires. RESULTS: Dexchlorpheniramine and mequitazine significantly impaired driving performance on the highway driving test on the first day; dexchlorpheniramine increased Standard Deviation of Lateral Position by 2 cm [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5, 3.8] and mequitazine by 2.5 cm (CI 1.0, 4.3). These effects on driving performance disappeared after 8 days of treatment. No effect of treatment was found on car following, tracking and divided attention. Although subjective ratings confirmed that subjects knew their driving had been impaired in the mequitazine and dexchlorpheniramine condition after completion of the highway driving test on day 1, they did not expect their driving to be affected before the start of the test. Cetirizine did not impair performance on any of the tests. CONCLUSIONS: Single doses of mequitazine 10 mg and dexchlorpheniramine Repetab 6 mg cause mild driving impairment. However, when taken over several days, the impairing effect wears off, possibly as a result of tolerance.

Administration, Oral↗