Ulrich Ettinger1, Inga Meyhöfer1, Mitul A Mehta2, Veena Kumari3, Philip J Corr4, Steven Cr Williams2, Adam M Perkins5. 1. 1 Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Germany. 2. 2 Department of Neuroimaging, King's College London, UK. 3. 3 Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK. 4. 4 Department of Psychology, City University of London, UK. 5. 5 Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Saccadic eye movements are controlled by a network of parietal, frontal, striatal, cerebellar and brainstem regions. The saccadic peak velocity is an established biomarker of benzodiazepine effects, with benzodiazepines reliably reducing the peak velocity. AIMS: In this study, we aimed to replicate the effects of benzodiazepines on peak velocity and we investigated effects on previously less studied measures of saccades. We also explored the roles of sex, task characteristics and the baseline variables age, intelligence and trait anxiety in these effects. METHOD:Healthy adults ( N = 34) performed a horizontal step prosaccade task under 1 mg lorazepam, 2 mg lorazepam and placebo in a double-blind, within-subjects design. RESULTS: We replicated the dose-dependent reduction in peak velocity with lorazepam and showed that this effect is stronger for saccades to targets at smaller eccentricities. We also demonstrated that this effect is independent of sex and other baseline variables. Lorazepam effects were widespread, however, occurring on mean and variability measures of most saccadic variables. Additionally, there were sex-dependent lorazepam effects on spatial consistency of saccades, indicating more adverse effects in females. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that saccadic peak velocity is a sensitive and robust biomarker of benzodiazepine effects. However, lorazepam has pronounced effects also on other parameters of horizontal saccades. Sex-dependent drug effects on spatial consistency may reflect cerebellar mechanisms, given the role of the cerebellum in saccadic spatial accuracy.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Saccadic eye movements are controlled by a network of parietal, frontal, striatal, cerebellar and brainstem regions. The saccadic peak velocity is an established biomarker of benzodiazepine effects, with benzodiazepines reliably reducing the peak velocity. AIMS: In this study, we aimed to replicate the effects of benzodiazepines on peak velocity and we investigated effects on previously less studied measures of saccades. We also explored the roles of sex, task characteristics and the baseline variables age, intelligence and trait anxiety in these effects. METHOD: Healthy adults ( N = 34) performed a horizontal step prosaccade task under 1 mg lorazepam, 2 mg lorazepam and placebo in a double-blind, within-subjects design. RESULTS: We replicated the dose-dependent reduction in peak velocity with lorazepam and showed that this effect is stronger for saccades to targets at smaller eccentricities. We also demonstrated that this effect is independent of sex and other baseline variables. Lorazepam effects were widespread, however, occurring on mean and variability measures of most saccadic variables. Additionally, there were sex-dependent lorazepam effects on spatial consistency of saccades, indicating more adverse effects in females. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that saccadic peak velocity is a sensitive and robust biomarker of benzodiazepine effects. However, lorazepam has pronounced effects also on other parameters of horizontal saccades. Sex-dependent drug effects on spatial consistency may reflect cerebellar mechanisms, given the role of the cerebellum in saccadic spatial accuracy.
Authors: Kenneth Holmqvist; Saga Lee Örbom; Ignace T C Hooge; Diederick C Niehorster; Robert G Alexander; Richard Andersson; Jeroen S Benjamins; Pieter Blignaut; Anne-Marie Brouwer; Lewis L Chuang; Kirsten A Dalrymple; Denis Drieghe; Matt J Dunn; Ulrich Ettinger; Susann Fiedler; Tom Foulsham; Jos N van der Geest; Dan Witzner Hansen; Samuel B Hutton; Enkelejda Kasneci; Alan Kingstone; Paul C Knox; Ellen M Kok; Helena Lee; Joy Yeonjoo Lee; Jukka M Leppänen; Stephen Macknik; Päivi Majaranta; Susana Martinez-Conde; Antje Nuthmann; Marcus Nyström; Jacob L Orquin; Jorge Otero-Millan; Soon Young Park; Stanislav Popelka; Frank Proudlock; Frank Renkewitz; Austin Roorda; Michael Schulte-Mecklenbeck; Bonita Sharif; Frederick Shic; Mark Shovman; Mervyn G Thomas; Ward Venrooij; Raimondas Zemblys; Roy S Hessels Journal: Behav Res Methods Date: 2022-04-06
Authors: Katharina Bey; Leonhard Lennertz; Rosa Grützmann; Stephan Heinzel; Christian Kaufmann; Julia Klawohn; Anja Riesel; Inga Meyhöfer; Ulrich Ettinger; Norbert Kathmann; Michael Wagner Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2018-06-29 Impact factor: 4.157