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Biomedical subjects

H Moskowitz

Publications and source records attributed to H Moskowitz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Effects of long-term administration of buspirone and diazepam on driver steering control.

The effects of buspirone, diazepam, and placebo on tracking control were investigated over a nine-day period, using three groups of subjects, each with eight females and eight males. Subjects were tested using an interactive, computer-based driving simulator on days one, eight, and nine of the treatment period. On day nine, subjects received alcohol with their drug treatment. Measures of steering control were derived from car-driver transfer functions. Tracking performance was also measured. Diazepam was found to adversely affect steering control measures in comparison with placebo. This was true both after doses on the first as well as the eighth day of treatment. Thus, there was no evidence of behavioral tolerance to diazepam. In contrast, buspirone was not found to have any adverse effects on steering control; in fact, some evidence of improved tracking control was found. When alcohol was added to each treatment on the ninth day, differences between the drug treatment groups were less pronounced but in the same direction as on the first and eighth days.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1986

Cognitive performance in geriatric subjects after acute treatment with antidepressants.

The effects of amitriptyline, trazodone and placebo on cognitive skills performance were examined in a group of 15 normal volunteers with a minimum age of 60. Each subject was behaviorally tested after single, acute treatments at weekly sessions using a battery of tasks measuring visual search, division of attention, tracking, critical tracking, rate of information processing, and vigilance. Amitriptyline, 50 mg, produced impairment on the vigilance task, the divided attention task and the critical tracking task. In addition, episodes of extended insensitivity to external stimuli similar to short-term sleep occurred. In contrast, trazodone exhibited impairment only on the critical tracking task. This study indicates that trazodone is less likely than amitriptyline to produce impairment of skills performance aspects of cognition.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

A comparison of the effects of trazodone and amitriptyline on skills performance by geriatric subjects.

Fifteen healthy adults, aged 60 years and older, participated in a double-blind, crossover study of trazodone in comparison with amitriptyline and placebo. A battery of laboratory tests was used to measure drug effects on information processing, attention, and visual-motor skills. Amitriptyline 50 mg impaired vigilance and tracking performance and increased drowsiness. Trazodone 100 mg impaired only the most difficult tracking task. This study demonstrates that cognition and performance are less adversely affected in geriatric subjects by trazodone than by amitriptyline beginning 90 minutes after a single-dosage trial.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1985

Marihuana and driving.

A review was performed of the marihuana and driving literature, both epidemiological and experimental. It was noted that epidemiological studies face considerable difficulties in obtaining estimates of risks involved for drivers utilizing marihuana due to the rapid decline in blood levels of tetrahydrocannabinol. On the other hand, experimental studies examining the relationship between administered marihuana dose and performance have identified many driving-related areas as exhibiting impairment. Areas impaired include coordination, tracking, perception, vigilance and performance in both driving simulators and on the road. Other behavioral areas of lesser importance for driving also exhibited evidence of impairment by marihuana. Areas for further research are suggested.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

Skills performance at low blood alcohol levels.

The effect of low blood alcohol levels (BALs) on driving skills performance was examined experimentally. Ten moderate drinkers were tested on divided-attention and information processing tasks at BALs of zero, 15, 30, 45 and 60 mg/dl. All response measures showed evidence of impairment beginning at 15 mg/dl and increasing impairment with increasing BALs. Thus there is no evidence that low or very low BALs improve performance on driving-related skills, as has sometimes been suggested.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Attention tasks as skills performance measures of drug effects.

Both empirical epidemiological data on the causes of traffic accidents and conceptual models of skilled human performance stress the central role of perception and cognition. This paper examines the effects of drugs on two major components of cognitive perceptual performance, namely, concentrated attention or vigilance and divided attention. It is demonstrated that these two types of attention tasks are differentially affected by various drugs, so that sometimes one and sometimes another of these tasks is impaired. Various experimental paradigms to investigate these two attention functions are presented. It is demonstrated that attention tasks are frequently highly sensitive to drug effects, suggesting the importance of examining these functions when investigating the effects of drugs on skills performance.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1983

Clinical utilization of perfusion lung scans in the diagnosis of pulmonary emboli.

To study the utilization of perfusion lung scans, the records of 116 consecutive patients who had "pulmonary embolus" (PE) as a discharge diagnosis were reviewed. The PE group was identical to the control group in the percent of male patients and of white patients. However, the PE group was older (60.4 versus 47.5 years), had a higher percentage of smokers (53.1 versus 34), and had a higher proportion of obese individuals (39.6 versus 25) than controls. Mortality was significantly greater in the PE patients (9.5% versus 1%) as was the length of hospital stay (21 versus 9 days). The PE group had more chest x-rays than did controls (6.1 versus 1.8) and had a higher percentage of lung scans (95.7 versus 5). While 95.7% of the patients diagnosed as having PE were studied by perfusion lung scans, 4.3% had none. Further, 18.1% had only one lung scan. Of 111 patients with perfusion lung scans, 3.6% were discharged with a diagnosis of PE despite a negative study. While clinical acceptance of perfusion lung scans is high, some patients diagnosed as having pulmonary emboli did not have a scan but underwent other diagnostic tests, while a small group of others were assigned the diagnosis despite a negative lung scan. This points to the need for better communication with referring clinicians.

Anticoagulants↗
PubMed1982

Effects of chronically administered buspirone and diazepam on driving-related skills performance.

The effects on driving skills of buspirone and diazepam, singly and in combination with alcohol, were examined. Three groups of 16 subjects each (8 men and 8 women) received either 20 mg of buspirone, 15 mg of diazepam, or placebo daily for 9 days. On day 9, they also received alcohol (men, 0.85 g/kg; women, 0.72 g/kg). On days 1, 8, and 9, subjects were tested on a driving simulator and given four sessions of divided attention tasks examining tracking and visual search performance. Extensive evidence of performance impairment associated with diazepam contrasted with improved performance under chronic buspirone treatment. Alcohol effects were additive.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Effects of diphenhydramine and alcohol on skills performance.

Twelve men were subjects in a repeated measures experiment on the effects on performance of diphenhydramine, alcohol, and diphenhydramine and alcohol in combination. Behavioral measures included compensatory tracking, a divided attention task, information processing rate, and critical tracking. Performance impairment occurred under all treatments with an additive effect under the combined drug-alcohol treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Effect of alcohol and marijuana on eye movements.

The effects of alcohol and marijuana (tetrahydrocannabinol-THC) on saccades, smooth pursuit, and optokinetic nystagmus were quantitatively evaluated in 24 normal subjects using electro-oculographic recordings. Each subject was given an initial trial run and then tested three times (at weekly intervals) with either 0.0microgram THC or 100 microgram THC/kg bodyweight while at three different blood alcohol concentrations (0.0, 0.05 and 0.1%). A 2X3 factorial design was used. Saccades and smooth pursuit were induced by a dot of light moving in steps and ramps on a modified television set. Optokinetic nystagmus was induced by a cloth drum completely surrounding the subject and moving at a constant velocity of 30 degrees/s. Alcohol (0.05 and 0.1%) alone produced significant (p less than 0.05) impairment of saccade maximum velocity and reaction time, smooth pursuit velocity, and optokinetic slow-component velocity. The addition of THC caused performance to further deteriorate at each blood alcohol level but, in all but one instance, the added effect was not statistically significant ( greater than 0.05). At the THC and alcohol concentrations used in this study, the eye movement effects of alcohol over-shadowed those of marijuana.

Adult↗