Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:25-29
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Diazepam-induced amnesia: a neuropharmacological model of an "organic amnestic syndrome"
OM Wolkowitz, H Weingartner, K Thompson, D Pickar, SM Paul and DW Hommer
Diazepam has well-known amnestic properties. These effects, however, are
selective for certain psychobiologically distinct memory functions. In this
study, incremental doses of diazepam administered to 10 normal volunteers
selectively impaired anterograde episodic memory and attention while
totally sparing access to information in long-term memory (semantic or
knowledge memory). This pattern of disruption mimics that seen in patients
with organic amnesias and is in sharp contrast to the pattern seen in
patients with dementia. These findings provide a framework for defining
specific psychobiological determinants of cognitive failure.
