Selective effects of zolpidem on human memory functions

doi:10.1177/026988119901300103

Paper

Selective effects of zolpidem on human memory functions

Published Jan 1, 1999 · M. Mintzer, R. Griffiths

Journal of Psychopharmacology

Q1 SJR score

45

Citations

4

Influential Citations

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Abstract

Zolpidem is an imidazopyridine hypnotic with preferential binding affnity for the o1-benzodiazepine (BZD) receptor. The present double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the effects of orally administered zolpidem (15 mg/70 kg) on specific memory functions in 16 healthy volunteers using a battery of word and picture memory tasks. Relative to placebo, zolpidem significantly impaired memory for material presented after drug administration when memory was assessed directly by referring subjects back to the prior study episode (explicit memory: recall and recognition) but not when memory was assessed indirectly by evaluating subjects' ability to identify degraded versions of studied stimuli (implicit memory: fragment completion). Zolpidem did not impair explicit memory for material presented before drug administration or memory for previously acquired knowledge (semantic memory: categorization). There was evidence suggesting that zolpidem enhanced explicit and implicit memory for material presented before drug administration and that zolpidem produced a specific deficit in the acquisition of contextual information about material presented after drug administration. Despite zolpidem's unique pharmacological profile, the observed selectivity of zolpidem's memory-impairing effects for particular functions appears qualitatively similar to the selectivity observed with classic BZDs in previous studies.

RCT

Study Snapshot

Zolpidem selectively impairs memory for material presented after drug administration, but enhances memory for material presented before drug administration.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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Selective effects of zolpidem on human memory functions

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References

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Triazolam and zolpidem both impair psychomotor and cognitive performance, but zolpidem shows more impairment in time estimation, short-term memory, and computerized trail-making tasks.

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Scopolamine and lorazepam both have similar effects on memory systems, but lorazepam has a different effect on word-stem completion, suggesting distinct neurobiological systems mediating different memory systems.

Perspectives on cognitive psychopharmacology research.

Newer theoretical models of memory'systems' and attention allocation can accommodate most of the effects of benzodiazepines and scopolamine on cognition, suggesting a'systems' approach to data interpretation.

Citations

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