Psychomotor ability

Fairweather. D.B., Ashford. J.. Hindmarch. I. Effects of fluvoxamine and dothiepin on psychomotor abilities in healthy volunteers. Pharmacol. Biochan. Behav. 53, 265-269, 1996. 

In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study of the comparative pharmacodynamics of single doses of temazepam (15 and 30 mg), diphenhydramine (50 and 75 mg), and valerian (400 and 800 mg) in 14 healthy elderly volunteers, temazepam had dose-dependent effects on sedation and psychomotor ability with a distinct time course (4). Temazepam 30 mg and both doses of diphenhydramine elicited significantly greater sedation than placebo, and temazepam had the greatest effect. There were no differences in sedation scores between 50 and 75 mg of diphenhydramine. Psychomotor impairment was evident after diphenhydramine 75 mg compared with placebo on the manual tracking test this was less than the impairment with temazepam 30 mg but similar to that with temazepam 15 mg. There was no psychomotor impairment with diphenhydramine 50 mg. Valerian was not different from placebo on any measure of psychomotor performance or sedation. 

Hindmarch I, Gilburt S. The lack of CNS effects of nizatidine, with and without alcdiol, psychomotor ability and cognitive function. Hum Psychopharmacol 990) 5,25-32. 

Fleishman, E.A. 1972. Structure and measurement of psychomotor abilities. In Singer, R.N. (ed.). The Psychomotor Domain Movement Behavior, Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, pp. 78-106. 

Bleichrodt N, Drenth PJD, Querido A, Effects of iodine deficiency on mental and psychomotor abilities. Am J PhysiolAntropol 53 55 (1980)... 

Hindmarch, I. and A. C. Gudgeon (1982). Loprazolam (HR158) and flurazepam with ethanol compared on tests of psychomotor ability. Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol, 23(6), 509-512. 

In contrast, the investigation of variables, such as attitudes and personality factors, (e.g. extraversion/introversion, emotional stability, and cognitive and psychomotor abilities) have not led to a uniform pattern of the accident-liable individual. Inventories such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), or projective procedures could not differentiate between individuals with or without an accident record. In an overview on the importance of personality factors for traffic accidents, McGuire (1976) reached the conclusion that traffic accidents are indicative of the following characteristics emotional instability, unhappiness, anti-social tendencies. 

Hindmarch I, Parrott AC and Lanza M (1979). The effects of ergot alkaloid derivative (Hydergine) on aspects of psychomotor performance, arousal, and cognitive processing ability. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 19, 726-732. 

However, another controlled study in Alzheimer s disease patients found only marginal improvements in picture recognition and ratings of word-finding ability (Tariot et al. 1988). No benefits were seen in semantic or episodic memory. Biphasic effects were found on psychomotor activation, with improvements at lower doses and impairments at higher doses. 

Number Facility (Fig. 30), the most consistently used single test of cognitive ability, was affected very similarly to Pegboard performance (Fig. 31), which is a test of psychomotor function. Near (Fig. 32) and Far (Fig. 33) visual acuity were likewise almost identically affected. 

Operating room safety hazards, such as flammability and explosiveness and (6) prompt patient recovery to psychomotor competence, facilitating the clinician s assessment of the patient and the patient s ability to become physiologically self-supporting. 

Ability to Communicate. The mental status exam is critical to the determination of a patient s capacity to consent, and the ability to communicate is an absolute prerequisite (see the section Diagnostic Assessment in Chapter 1). Psychomotor impairments such as mutism or catatonia (withdrawn type) would severely affect an individual s fundamental ability to communicate any appreciation of the issues involved and their ramifications. Although an individual may actually be well oriented and may intellectually appreciate and even later remember events that occurred and the issues involved, that person is not capable of consenting if unable to demonstrate these faculties. 

Nonpsychotic persons also experience impaired performance as judged by a number of psychomotor and psychometric tests. Psychotic individuals, however, may actually show improvement in their performance as the psychosis is alleviated. The ability of the atypical antipsychotic drugs to improve some domains of cognition in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is controversial. Some individuals experience marked improvement and for that reason, cognition should be assessed in all patients with schizophrenia and a trial of an atypical agent considered, even if positive symptoms are well controlled by typical agents. 

Psychomotor vigilance task performance has also been shown to be sensitive to reduced behavioral alertness associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), and the efficacy of interventions for OSAS. Performance of patients with OSAS is impaired on tasks that rely on the ability to sustain attention (85,86). As a measure of behavioral alertness, PVT performance has been demonstrated to be a sensitive method for assessing the attentional capability of patients with OSAS (32,87,88). Kribbs and colleagues (89) found that PVT performance and sleepiness, measured by the MSLT, both reflected the benefits of CPAP use (reduction in respiratory events during sleep). Similarly, the PVT has been used to demonstrate the positive effects of modafinil (a wake-promoting compound) on the capacity to sustain attention in a group of OSAS patients (34). 

Process whereby intermittent stimulant exposure produces a time-dependent, enduring and progressively more enhanced behavioural response. Impairment of psychomotor and cognitive abilities by psychotropic drugs. 

Tata et al. (1994) used psychometric tests to follow up 21 patients 6 months after abstinence from long-term therapeutic doses of prescribed BZs. They also examined 21 normal matched controls. Pre- and postwithdrawal and 6 months afterward, the results demonstrated significant impairment in patients in verbal learning and memory, psychomotor, visuo-motor and visuo-conceptual abilities, compared with controls. Lagnaoui et al. (2002) found increased dementia in elderly patients treated with BZs in a community setting. 

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