Abstract
Benzodiazepines are among the most commonly prescribed therapeutics. Women seem to be more likely than men to be prescribed a benzodiazepine and to use benzodiazepines for nonmedical reasons; they also appear to be at higher risk for benzodiazepine dependence. The aim of the present investigation was to assess the acute behavioral effects of a benzodiazepine in women and men. To accomplish this, 13 volunteers (6 women, 7 men) first learned to discriminate 0.375-mg triazolam, a triazolobenzodiazepine hypnotic. After acquiring the discrimination, (i.e., >80% correct responding on 4 consecutive sessions) a range of doses of triazolam (0, 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, and 0.375 mg) were tested in each participant. Triazolam dose dependently increased drug-appropriate responding and subject ratings of sedation and impaired performance (i.e., significant effect of dose). The women and men did not differ significantly on any measure. The results of the present experiment suggest that women and men are not differentially sensitive to the behavioral effects of triazolam.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 329-349 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant DA 09841 (CRR) supported this research. Address correspondence to Craig R. Rush, Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0086. E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords
- Benzodiazepines
- Drug discrimination
- Gender
- Sex
- Triazolam
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
