Midazolam amnesia and conceptual processing in implicit memory

Prominent theories of implicit memory (D. Schacter, B. Church, & J. Treadwell, 1994) emphasize the dominant role of perceptual processing in mediating priming on perceptual implicit memory tests. Examinations of the effects of conceptual processing on perceptual implicit memory tests have produced ambiguous results. Although a number of investigations (e.g., J. Toth & R. Hunt, 1990) have demonstrated that variations in conceptual processing affect priming on perceptual implicit memory tests, these effects may arise because of the contaminating effects of explicit memory. The current experiment examined this controversy using midazolam, a benzodiazepine that produces a dense, albeit temporary, anterograde amnesia when injected prior to study. The experiment examined whether the effects of generation found on the implicit memory test of perceptual identification were affected by a midazolam injection prior to study. Results demonstrated that midazolam substantially diminished generation effects in free and cued recall, as well as overall performance on these tests, but had no detectable effect on the generation effect in perceptual identification.