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Benzodiazepines, amnesia and sedation: Theoretical and clinical issues and controversies
Author(s) -
King D. J.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.470070202
Subject(s) - amnesia , sedation , benzodiazepine , sedative , anxiolytic , anterograde amnesia , anesthesia , medicine , psychology , pharmacology , psychiatry , anxiety , receptor
The amnestic effect of benzodiazepines, first described in 1965, and the subsequent attempts to identify the precise nature of this effect, are reviewed. The difficulty in deciding to what extent this effect is secondary to the sedative action of these drugs is shown by the lack of agreement between studies. Nevertheless, it is concluded that, given the right experimental design, all benzodiazepines can be shown to cause an anterograde amnesia which is probably primarily a result of reduced attention or rehearsal and secondary to sedation. Its onset, degree and duration are influenced by dose, rate of absorption, route of administration, potency and the receptor occupancy rate of the particular benzodiazepine involved, but plasma elimination t ½ appears to be relatively unimportant. The clinical relevance of this for the long‐term use of hypnotics and anxiolytics is not clear. Tolerance appears to be greater than for the anxiolytic but less than the sedative or anticonvulsant effect of benzodiazepines. It seems that transient amnestic effects could occur in chronic users related to post‐dose, peak benzodiazepine levels. The great variability in individual response means that transient amnesia is a potential adverse drug reaction in certain individuals taking benzodiazepines.