Abstract
Ten healthy male subjects received diazepam (10 or 20 mg), fentanyl (0.1 or 0.2 mg) or a placebo intravenously at weekly intervals according to a latin square design. They were tested on a battery of psychological and electroencephalographic tests at 0.5, 2, 6, and 8 hrs following injection. Fentanyl had little effect on memory while diazepam reduced the ability to learn without increasing forgetting of material already acquired. By the 2nd hour post injection, only the low dose of fentanyl had no residual effect. Recovery was complete by the 6th hour for all treatments according to the psychological tests except for the lagging effect of high dose of diazepam on memory. The electroencephalographic effects of diazepam persisted beyond the end of the testing sessions while those of the high dose of fentanyl recovered by the 8th hour. Thus in the dosages tested, diazepam had more intense and prolonged effects than fentanyl.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atkinson, R. C., Shiffrin, R. M.: The control of short-term memory. Sci. Amer. 224, 82–90 (1971)
Baird, E. S., Hailey, D. M.: Delayed recovery from a sedative: Correlation of the plasma levels of diazepam with clinical effects after oral and intravenous administration. Brit. J. Anaesth. 44, 803–808 (1972)
Benton, A. L.: The revised visual retention test. Clinical and experimental applications. New York: The Psychological Corporation 1955
Bond, A. J., Lader, M. H.: The residual effects of flurazepam. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 32, 223–235 (1973)
Brown, J.: Some tests of the decay theory of immediate memory. Quart. J. exp. Psychol. 10, 12–21 (1958)
Clarke, P. R. F., Eccersley, P. S., Frisby, J. P., Thornton, J. A.: The amnesic effect of diazepam (Valium). Brit. J. Anaesth. 42, 690–697 (1970)
Ghoneim, M. M., Mewaldt, S. P., Ambre, J.: Plasma levels of diazepam and mood ratings. Anesth. Analg. 54, 173–177 (1975)
Hess, R., Stiebler, G., Herz, A.: Pharmacokinetics of fentanyl in man and the rabbit. Europ. J. clin. Pharmacol. 4, 137–141 (1972)
Jannsen, P. A. J.: A review of the chemical features associated with strong morphine-like activity. Brit. J. Anaesth. 34, 260–268 (1962)
Jasper, H. H.: The ten-twenty electrode system of the International Federation. Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol. 10, 371–375 (1958)
Kaplan, S. A., Jack, M. L., Alexander, K., Weinfeld, R. E.: Pharmacokinetic profile of diazepam in man following single intravenous and oral and chronic oral administrations. J. pharm. Sci. 62, 1789–1796 (1973)
Kelly, D., Pik, R., Chen, C.: A psychological and physiological evaluation of the effects of intravenous diazepam. Brit. J. Psychiat. 122, 419–426 (1973)
Malpas, A.: Subjective and objective effects of nitrazepam and amylobarbitone sodium in normal human beings. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 27, 373–378 (1972)
Malpas, A., Rowan, A. J., Joyce, C. R. B., Scott, D. F.: Persistent behavioural and electroencephalographic changes after single doses of nitrazepam and amylobarbitone sodium. Brit. med. J. 1970 II, 762–764
Norris, H.: The action of sedatives on brain stem oculomotor systems in man. Neuropharmacology 10, 181–191 (1971)
Peterson, L. R., Peterson, M. J.: Short-term retention of individual verbal items. J. exp. Psychol. 58, 193–198 (1959)
Randall, L. O., Scheckel, C. L., Banziger, R. F.: Pharmacology of the metabolites of chlordiazepoxide and diazepam. Curr. ther. Res. 7, 590–606 (1965)
Seaba, P. J., Peters, J. F., Knott, J. R.: Electroencephalographic changes accompanying diazepam and fentanyl. (In preparation)
Underwood, B. J.: Degree of learning and measurement of forgetting. J. Verb. Learn. Verb. Behav. 3, 112–129 (1964)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ghoneim, M.M., Mewaldt, S.P. & Thatcher, J.W. The effect of diazepam and fentanyl on mental, psychomotor and electroencephalographic functions and their rate of recovery. Psychopharmacologia 44, 61–66 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421185
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421185