A ‘levels of processing’ study of the effects of benzodiazepines on human memory

Abstract

AbstractA study was designed to test whether anterograde impairments of memory caused by benzodiazepines are dependent on the depth at which information is processed. The effects of two dose levels of two benzodiazepines (lorazepam 1, 2 mg; oxazepam 15, 30 mg) and a placebo were compared using a double‐blind, independent group design with 45 healthy, human volunteers. Subjects given benzodiazepines were slower in processing semantic information than subjects given placebo. The two benzodiazepines caused dose‐related impairments in retention in recognition testing, but these impairments did not depend on the level at which information had been initially processed. It was concluded that the levels of processing framework is inappropriate for conceptualizing the amnesic properties of benzodiazepines.