BZResearch_Data

A double-blind, parallel-group design study 30 undergraduates randomly allocated to acute oral treatments with 15 mg diazepam or placebo. Working Memory Capacity (running memory span and counting span) tasks and story recall were assessed pre- and post-treatment. Story presentation was succeeded by 10 min of Retroactive Interference (RI - spotting differences in pictures) or minimal RI (doing nothing in darkened rooms). Delayed story recall was assessed under diazepam and 7 days later in a drug-free session to assess accelerated forgetting. Results: Recall of stories encoded or reencoded (reconsolidated) under diazepam was severely impaired (anterograde amnesia). However, diazepam did not: impair WMC, increase susceptibility to RI nor accelerate forgetting assessed 7 days later.