An explorative approach to understanding individual differences in driving performance and neurocognition in long-term benzodiazepine users.

Objective: Previous research reported cognitive and psychomotor impairments in long-term users of benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs). This article explores the role of acute intoxication and clinical complaints.

Methods: Neurocognitive and on-road driving performance of 19 long-term (≥6 months) regular (≥twice weekly) BZRA users with estimated plasma concentrations, based on self-reported use, exceeding the therapeutic threshold (C +), and 31 long-term regular BZRA users below (C -), was compared to that of 76 controls.

On-the-road driving performance the morning after bedtime administration of lemborexant in healthy adult and elderly volunteers.

Study Objectives: To assess potential effects of lemborexant on next-morning driving performance in adult and elderly healthy volunteers.

Methods: Randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo and active-controlled, four period incomplete crossover study in 48 healthy volunteers (22 females), 23-78 years old. Participants were treated at bedtime for eight consecutive nights with two of three dose levels of lemborexant (2.

Single- and dual-task performance during on-the-road driving at a low and moderate dose of alcohol: A comparison between young novice and more experienced drivers.

Driving experience and alcohol are two factors associated with a higher risk of crash involvement in young novice drivers. Driving a car is a complex task involving multiple tasks leading to dividing attention. The aim of this study was to compare the single and combined effects of a low and moderate dose of alcohol on single- and dual-task performance between young novice and more experienced young drivers during actual driving.

Nicotine deprivation elevates neural representation of smoking-related cues in object-sensitive visual cortex: a proof of concept study.

Objective: In the current study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) to investigate whether tobacco addiction biases basic visual processing in favour of smoking-related images. We hypothesize that the neural representation of smoking-related stimuli in the lateral occipital complex (LOC) is elevated after a period of nicotine deprivation compared to a satiated state, but that this is not the case for object categories unrelated to smoking.

Methods: Current smokers (≥10 cigarettes a day) underwent two fMRI scanning sessions: one after 10 h of nicotine abstinence and the other one after smoking ad libitum.

On-the-road driving performance the morning after bedtime use of suvorexant 15 and 30 mg in healthy elderly.

Rationale: Suvorexant is a first-in-class orexin receptor antagonist for treating insomnia. There is a general concern that hypnotics may impair next-morning driving ability.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate next-morning driving performance in older adults after single and repeated doses of suvorexant.

On-the-Road Driving Performance the Morning after Bedtime Use of Suvorexant 20 and 40 mg: A Study in Non-Elderly Healthy Volunteers.

Study Objective: To evaluate next-morning driving performance in adults younger than 65 years, after single and repeated doses of suvorexant 20 and 40 mg.

Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, 4-period crossover study.

Setting: Maastricht University, The Netherlands.

Residual effects of low-dose sublingual zolpidem on highway driving performance the morning after middle-of-the-night use.

Study Objective: To evaluate next-morning driving performance after middle-of-the-night use of zolpidem 3.5 mg in a buffered sublingual formulation (ZST).

Design: Single-center, four-period, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

Contingent negative variation as a dopaminergic biomarker: evidence from dose-related effects of methylphenidate.

Rationale: The basal ganglia play an important role in motor control, which is dependent on dopaminergic input. Preparation of a motor response has been associated with dopamine release in the basal ganglia, and response readiness may therefore serve as a pharmacodynamic marker of dopamine activity.

Methods: We measured response readiness using the amplitude of the contingent negative variation (CNV), a slow negative shift in the electroencephalogram.

Aging does not affect gray matter asymmetry.

Previous research has shown that asymmetry of brain activity is decreased in older adults. This study investigates whether cortical gray matter asymmetry also shows age-related differences, and whether gray matter asymmetry differs between cognitively stable persons and persons who have shown profound age-related declines in cognitive functioning. In addition, we have examined whether prodromal dementia affects the study outcome.

A time-saving and facilitating approach for segmentation of anatomically defined cortical regions: MRI volumetry.

In this study, we present an accurate, reliable, robust, and time-efficient technique for a semi-automatic segmentation of neuroanatomically defined cortical structures in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. It involves manual drawing of the border of a region of interest (ROI), supported by three-dimensional (3D) visualization techniques (rendering), and a subsequent automatic tracing of the gray matter voxels inside the ROI by means of an automatic tissue classifier. The approach has been evaluated on a set of MRI scans of 75 participants selected from the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS) and applied to cortical brain structures for both the left and right hemispheres, viz.

The use of faces as stimuli in neuroimaging and psychological experiments: a procedure to standardize stimulus features.

In psychological experiments involving facial stimuli, it is of great importance that the basic perceptual or psychological characteristics that are investigated are not confounded by factors such as brightness and contrast, head size, hair cut and color, skin color, and the presence of glasses and earrings. Standardization of facial stimulus materials reduces the effect of these confounding factors. We therefore employed a set of basic image processing techniques to deal with this issue.

The prevalence of cortical gray matter atrophy may be overestimated in the healthy aging brain.

Prevailing opinion holds that normal brain aging is characterized by substantial atrophy of cortical gray matter. However, this conclusion is based on earlier studies whose findings may be influenced by the inclusion of subjects with subclinical cognitive disorders like preclinical dementia. The present magnetic resonance imaging study tested this hypothesis.

Stimulating effects of H1-antagonists.

Whereas antihistamines are generally known for their sedative side effects, this review shows that several studies also found mild stimulating effects on performance for the H1-antagonists terfenadine, ebastine, fexofenadine and desloratadine. These stimulating effects were mostly demonstrated in tasks involving high levels of attention, e.g.

Additional dopamine reuptake inhibition attenuates vigilance impairment induced by serotonin reuptake inhibition in man.

There is evidence for a specific impairment of human vigilance following enhancement of serotonergic activity by antidepressant drugs. In the present study, we investigated the putative role of serotonergic-dopaminergic interactions in diminished vigilance by comparing the attentional effects of sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) with additional mild dopamine stimulating effects, with those of paroxetine, a SSRI without dopamine activity, using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, three-way cross-over design. Twenty-one (of 24) healthy middle-aged subjects completed the three treatment periods of 2 weeks in which sertraline (50 mg, days 1-7; 100 mg, days 8-14), paroxetine (20 mg, days 1-7; 40 mg, days 8-14) and placebo were administered.

Modulation of the critical flicker fusion effects of serotonin reuptake inhibitors by concomitant pupillary changes.

Rationale: Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been attributed CNS-activating properties based on their ability to elevate the Critical Flicker Fusion (CFF) threshold. However, such an interpretation may be questioned since CFF elevations may also be due to SSRI-induced increases in pupil diameter.

Objectives: The effect of pupillary changes on CFF assessment following SSRI administration was investigated in a double blind, crossover study.