Abstract
The present study examined the effect of pre-sleep ingestion of two depressant drugs (nitrazepam and butobarbitone) on subsequent performance. 12 subjects attempted five 15-min tasks in a balanced, latin-square design. The high dose of each drug increased the time on task decline in a short-term memory task. STM did not show a definite time of day effect. Proof reading was superior in the morning, but concept identification was faster in the the afternoons. The implications of these results are briefly discussed.
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Dr. Donald Broadbent provided invaluable discussion and advice during the preparation of this paper. The M.R.C. provided financial support. I acknowledge the roles of Dr. R. T. Wilkinson and Dr. A. W. Peck who conceived the original research plan. I am grateful to Dr. Peck for collaboration and for medical supervision and to the Wellcome Foundation who provided laboratory facilities, subjects and drugs for this study, which formed part of a programme of research at the Wellcome Research Laboratories, Beckenham, Kent.
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Adams, R.G. Pre-Sleep ingestion of two hypnotic drugs and subsequent performance. Psychopharmacologia 40, 185–190 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421369
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421369