Effects of Methamphetamine and Fatigue on Long- and Short-Term Memory.
Abstract
We examined the effects of a 10 mg/70 kg oral dose of d- methamphetamine HCI on fatigue-related deficits of short- and long-term memory. We used a recognition memory-search task with two memory loads. In one experimental condition, stimuli were committed to long-term memory (LTM) and performance was rendered automatic by extensive practice with consistently mapped stimuli and responses. In a second condition, the task was organized so that recognition depended on short-term memory (STM) despite equally extensive practice. After 7680 training trials, 13 subjects performed the task at 90-min intervals in a 13.5-h, sustained-performance session that began at 1930 and ended at 0900. At 0116, seven subjects were administered capsules containing 10 mg/70-kg body weight d-methamphetamine HCI, double-blind. The remaining subjects were administered a placebo. Memory-trace strengths and decision speeds declined during the early part of the night in all experimental conditions. The methamphetamine treatment reversed these effects within approximately 2 h of administration. The methamphetamine treatment also reversed an increasing trend in lapse probabilities. The stimulant did not merely produce criterion shifts that led subjects to respond impulsively (more rapidly but less accurately). These results suggest that the methamphetamine treatment produced genuine increases in accuracy of recognition and that any criterion shifts that may have occurred were more than compensated for by increased accuracy. Human performance, Sustained operations, SUSOPS, Sustained performance continuous operations, CONOPS, Continuous performance, Stimulant drugs, Methamphetamine, Amphetamine, Sleep deprivation, Sleepiness, Fatigue, Memory, Short-term memory, Long-term memory, Automaticity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA276452
Entities
People
- A. H. Mccardie
- D. F. Neri
- R. R. Stanny
Organizations
- Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory