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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

Effect of pain on human psychomotor performance.

The effect of pain on human psychomotor performance was measured in seven healthy volunteers after an intramuscular injection of vitamin B or saline using a controlled cross-over method. Vitamin B, causing moderate to severe pain, or painless saline was injected into the buttock at a time when the subjects' performance was impaired after an intravenous injection of diazepam (0.3 mg/kg). The subjects' psychomotor performance was tested before and 2, 3, and 4 h after diazepam (before, 15 min, and 1 h 15 min after the vitamin B and saline injections). The effects of the vitamin B injection on the subjects' divided attention, reaction or co-ordination skills or their ability to discriminate the fusion of flickering light did not differ from the corresponding effects of the saline injection. The results suggest that pain as such does not have any major influence on human psychomotor performance.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Head acceleration and psychomotor performance.

Concussion resulting from head acceleration could explain the poor survival rates in some types of accidents. Experiments have been conducted on a decelerator using a tracking task to determine whether high head acceleration could affect psychomotor performance. Human subjects were exposed to impact acceleration of O (sham), 5, 10 and 12 -Gx facing forwards. Measurements were made of the linear and angular accelerations experienced at the head and a step tracking task was used to examine psychomotor performance. Electroencephalographs were also recorded. Both the linear and angular accelerations at the head were increased at the higher levels of impact acceleration. At -5Gx there were no significant differences in psychomotor performance when compared with controls, but at -10Gx, and especially -12Gx, significant differences were found. The EEG activity did not vary significantly and no concussive effects were observed in any subject. These results suggest that impairment of psychomotor performance severe enough to jeopardise survival could be produced by high accelerations of the head, though neither linear nor angular acceleration appear to have special significance.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1979

Some aspects of the effects of clobazam on human psychomotor performance.

1 Three studies are described, the first being a comparison of the effects of acute night-time doses of clobazam 20 mg, amylobarbitone sodium 100 mg, nitrazepam 5 mg and placebo, on choice reaction time, critical flicker fusion (CFF) and stabilometer performance. Clobazam improved early morning performance on a choice reaction test, in contrast to the other two active drugs. 2 Repeated doses of clobazam 10 mg three times daily, chlordiazepoxide 10 mg three times daily and diazepam 5 mg three times daily were given for 5 days. Again clobazam did not produce any impairment of psychomotor performance, and noticeably increased CFF thresholds. 3 The effects of an acute night-time dose of clobazam 20 mg on psychomotor performance the morning after night-time medication were correlated with the neuroticism scores (on the EPI) of the subjects. Clobazam exerts a differential effect on psychomotor performance dependent on the basic personality trait. 4 Clobazam seems to differ significantly from the 1,4-benzodiazepines in that, although it reduces anxiety, it does so without any apparent impairment of psychomotor performance.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Effects of terfenadine and diphenhydramine alone or in combination with diazepam or alcohol on psychomotor performance and subjective feelings.

The effects of single oral doses of terfenadine, diphenhydramine and placebo, alone or in combination with diazepam or alcohol, on psychomotor performance and subjective feelings were evaluated in a double-blind, crossover study in 20 normal male volunteers. Terfenadine 60, 120 and 240 mg had no effect on psychomotor skills and subjective feelings, whereas diphenhydramine 100 mg slightly impaired certain features of psychomotor performance and severely worsened subjective feelings. Terfenadine 120 mg did not influence the adverse effects of oral diazepam 10 mg or of alcohol 0.75 g/kg on psychomotor performance and subjective feelings. In contrast, diphenhydramine 100 mg significantly enhanced these effects of diazepam and alcohol.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Clobazam. A 1.5 benzodiazepine derivative: effects upon human psychomotor performance under different levels of task reinforcement.

Two dose levels of clobazam, a benzodiazepine derivative, were compared to placebo for their effects upon psychomotor performance in an acute dose daytime study with normals. An acute dose of 10 mg clobazam significantly reduced response latencies in the low reinforcement condition of a psychomotor performance task but not in the high reinforcement condition. However 20 mg clobazam did not produce any significant changes in performance under either low or high reinforcement. Response speed changes generally correlated positively with trait anziety and neuroticism scores at both doses of clobazam.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Effects of benzodiazepines on psychomotor performance.

1 The literature relating to the effects of benzodiazepines on psychomotor performance is critically reviewed. 2 The multiple and diverse psychomotor tests used are assessed according to their ability to demonstrate differences between drugs. 3 Three general conclusions are: (1) The speed with which simple acts of a repetitive nature are performed may be impaired by benzodiazepines. (2) learning and immediate memory will also be impaired. (3) there is relatively little indication that well established higher mental faculties are adversely involved.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1977

Correlations between serum ami- and nortriptyline concentrations and psychomotor performance.

Correlations of serum nortriptyline (NT) and amitriptyline (AT) levels with psychomotor performance choice reaction performance, eye-hand coordination, and divided attention was studied in two experiments each with 20 healthy subjects. In the first experiment serum NT level was measured with an isotope derivative method after treatment for 14 days with NT. In the second trial plasma AT and NT concentrations were measured with gas-chromatography after treatment for 14 days with AT. No linear correlations between the levels of the antidepressants and performance variables were found. Low levels of NT (less than 50 ng/ml) tended to shorten reaction time, and intermediate levels (50--80 ng/ml) to prolong it, when compared with the reaction times during placebo. The correlation between serum NT levels and the increase of the tyramine dose in the tyramine pressor test was not significant. A new assay method for AT and NT is presented.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Effects of habitual variations in napping on psychomotor performance, memory and subjective states.

Effects of habitual variations in napping on psychomotor performance, short-term memory and subjective states were investigated. The subjects were 32 healthy male university students who napped twice or more weekly in themorning and at night. Sixteen were randomly assigned to a control group and 16 to a nap(treatment) group. The experiment comprised two conditions of electrographically (EEG) recorded sleep for the nap group and two EEG monitored conditions of wakefulness for the controls. These conditions were scheduled from 9:35 to 11:35 a.m. and 12 hr later between 9:35 p.m. and 11:35 p.m. Measurements were obtained from: (a) a continuous 10-min auditory reaction time task, (b) a free recall task of short-term memory, (c) an activation-mood adjective check list, and (d) the Stanford Sleepiness scale. Except for memory the dependent variables of waking function were assessed 20 min before and 20 min after all conditions. Following each sleep condition the nap group as opposed to the controls showed a statistically significant improvement in reaction time performance, higher short-term retention, less reported sleepiness and elevated subjective states reflected by fice factors on the adjective mood-activation check list. Among the correlations computed the largest significant coefficients were of stage 4 and REM with posttreatment Stanford Sleepiness ratings. After naps, increased postdormital sleepiness was correlated with stage 4 and decreased sleepiness with REM sleep. Although few strikingly divergent functional effects were associated with morning and nocturanal naps, these did covary with sleep psychophysiology. It is postulated that the phase, the EEG-sleep stages and possibly the duration of accustomed naps are less salient factors influencing performance when the time since awakening until behavioral assessment can be kept constant.

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↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of antianxiety drug and personality on stress-inducing psychomotor performance test.

The present study was carried out to clarify the effects of an antianxiety drug and of personality characteristics on a psychomotor performance test. Forty-eight healthy women college students were chosen from 64 volunteers as having either high or low levels of trait anxiety, neuroticism, or extroversion. Subjects with high trait anxiety and/or neuroticism tended to show a decrease in both speed and accuracy of the mirror drawing test (MDT) in the initial nondrug trials. Bromazepam, 5 mg, a benzodiazepine derivative, decreased this decrement in highly anxious subjects but worsened the speed in less anxious subjects. The personality traits of subjects, as well as the degree to which a performance test will induce stress, must be considered when evaluating the effects of antianxiety drugs on the performance of normal volunteers. The clinical anxiety-reducing efficacy of drugs may be predicted by using the MDT in subjects with high levels of anxiety and/or neuroticism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

The effects of repeated nocturnal doses of clobazam, dipotassium chlorazepate and placebo on subjective ratings of sleep and early morning behaviour and objective measures of arousal, psychomotor performance and anxiety.

1. Repeated nocturnal doses of 30 mg clobazam and dipotassium chlorazepate 15 mg showed no significant effects compared to matching placebo on tests of psychomotor performance and serial subtraction of numbers given in the morning and afternoon of the day following treatment. 2. Both active preparations improved the perceived quality of sleep compared to placebo. 3. A reduction in rated anxiety scores was found with clobazam on the afternoon of the day following treatment together with an elevation of critical flicker fusion thresholds. 4. Dipotassium chlorazepate was found to impair performance of a low level conceptual task but not to influence performance at a more difficult level.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

The effect of a sub-chronic administration of three dose levels of a 1,5-benzodiazepine derivative, clobazam, on subjective assessments of sleep and aspects of psychomotor performance the morning following night time medication.

The effect of repeated doses of a 1,5-benzodiazepine derivative, clobazam, at doses of 20, 30, and 40 mg taken at night was assessed the morning following medication on a variety of subjective and objective measures of sleep and psychomotor performance. None of the three dose levels of the drug produced any significant changes in critical flicher fusion thresholds or in complex reaction time tasks. Conceptual learning ability was not impaired by any of the doses of clobazam administered. Clobazam was rated on a self-scoring analogue rating scale as an effective sleep inducer, which also improved the perceived quality of sleep. There was also a reduction in the perceived integrity of early morning behaviour commensurate with the reported ease of getting to sleep.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Threshold concentration of nitrous oxide affecting psychomotor performance.

Using audiovisual reaction times, no effects were found in 12 subjects exposed to 1, 2, 4, or 8% nitrous oxide. In subsequent studies on 30 subjects, a positive effect on performance was found at a concentration of between 8 and 12% nitrous oxide. In addition, there was no difference in mean reaction time in 12 subjects exposed to air or 8% nitrous oxide. It is concluded that the threshold concentration of nitrous oxide for an effect on psychomotor performance as assessed by choice reaction times probably lies between 8 and 12%.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Interactions between heart rate, psychomotor performance and perceived effort during physical work as influenced by beta-adrenergic blockade.

Effects of a single intravenous dose of propranolol (0,25 mg/kg body weight) were examined in 15 healthy male subjects who performed three reaction-time tasks of different complexity, while pedalling at five work loads on a cycle ergometer. Comparisons between measurements after propranolol and after injection of a placebo solution showed a pronounced reduction of heart rate and an increase in catecholamine excretion following propranolol. Comparisons of psychomotor performance showed no significan difference between the propranolol and placebo conditions. Nor did self-estimates of perceived physical and task-induced efforts reveal any significant effects of propranolol. The results support the notion that heart rate is not a prominent cue for perceived effort.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

A repeated dose comparison of three benzodiazepine derivative (nitrazepam, flurazepam and flunitrazepam) on subjective appraisals of sleep and measures of psychomotor performance the morning following night-time medication.

Repeated doses of 5 mg nitrazepam, 15 mg flurazepam, and 1 mg flunitrazepam improved subjective assessments of the ease of getting to sleep and the perceived quality of induced sleep in a population of 30 healthy volunteers. The subjective reports of improved sleep inducement were related to a perceived difficulty in awakening from sleep the morning following medication. This subjectively reported "hangover" is also shown in the impairment of mental arithmetic abilities as measured on the serial subtraction of sevens technique. However, complex psychomotor performance is unaffected by repeated administration of these three benzodiazepine derivatives, although these later results are somewhat equivocal. Evidence of a "rebound phenomenon" following 4 nights' withdrawal of active medication is shown in both subjective and objective measures of sleep and early morning behaviour.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Evaluation of the effects of clobazam, A 1,5 benzodiazepine, on mood and psychomotor performance in clinically anxious patients in general practice.

1 The methodology of clinical trails of anxiolytic drugs carried out in general practice conditions is discussed. Particular problems include: the selection of suitable patients; placebo effects; the influence of non-specific variables such as life-events; and patient compliance. 2 Clobazam, a novel 1,5 benzodiazepine, and diazepam were compared with placebo in a double-blind group comparative trial in general practice, which was designed to avoid as many confounding variables as possible. Anxiety-reducing effects were evaluated and at the same time the effects of the drugs on psychomotor performance were examined. 3 Both clobazam and diazepam produced significant improvements in anxiety ratings on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and the Morbid Anxiety Inventory, whereas placebo did not. 4 The placebo group demonstrated a significant improvement in performance on a pursuit rotor and digit symbol substitution test (DSST), whereas the diazepam group's performance did not change. The clobazam group showed improvement in both tests, significantly so in the DSST. This suggests that diazepam produces impairment in performance, which had negated the practice effects seen in the placebo group, whereas clobazam did not seem to produce similar impairment.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychomotor performance following exposure to trace concentrations of inhalation anesthetics.

Using three psychomotor tasks administered three times each at 2-week intervals, we studied the performances of 18 control subjects and 18 subjects who were routinely and daily exposed to trace concentrations of anesthetic gases in the course of their clinical practice. No significant differences attributable to exposure to trace concentrations of anesthetics were detected. It is concluded that laboratory studies may overestimate the degree of alteration of psychomotor skills associated with exposure to trace concentrations of inhalation anesthetics.

Air Pollutants↗