Related Experiment Videos
Memory in pediatric patients undergoing conscious sedation for aversive medical procedures
Beverly Pringle1, Lynnda M Dahlquist, Allen Eskenazi
1Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA. bpringle@nida.nih.gov
Insights
Conscious sedation with midazolam impaired explicit memory but not implicit memory in pediatric cancer patients. This suggests learning can occur without conscious recollection during medical procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Conscious sedation is frequently used for pediatric medical procedures.
- Understanding memory effects during sedation is crucial for patient care.
- Midazolam is a common sedative with known amnesic properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of midazolam-induced conscious sedation on explicit and implicit memory in pediatric cancer patients.
- To determine if learning can occur without conscious recall during sedation.
Main Methods:
- 26 pediatric cancer patients undergoing midazolam sedation were assessed.
- Performance on visual recognition (explicit) and visual perceptual facilitation (implicit) memory tasks was measured.
- Memory scores were analyzed to compare effects on different memory types.
Main Results:
- Midazolam significantly impaired explicit memory performance.
- Implicit memory performance was not significantly affected by midazolam.
- A dissociation between explicit and implicit memory was observed.
Conclusions:
- Midazolam causes anterograde amnesia for explicit memories in children.
- Implicit learning can occur during conscious sedation without conscious awareness.
- Findings have implications for managing anxiety related to medical procedures.
Abstract:
This study investigated preserved memory in 26 pediatric cancer patients (65% boys, 77% Caucasian, mean age = 12.5 years) undergoing midazolam-induced conscious sedation during painful medical procedures to treat hematological or oncological diseases. The sedative midazolam had a significant anterograde amnesic effect on participants' performance on a visual recognition (explicit) memory task but not on a visual perceptual facilitation (implicit) memory task. That implicit memory scores were relatively unaffected while explicit memory scores deteriorated significantly indicates that leaning occurred while participants were sedated, even when participants did not recollect the learning event. These findings, which replicate those of M. R. Polster, R. A. McCarthy, G. O'Sullivan, P. A. Gray, and G. R. Park (1993) in a study of adults, have implications for the development and treatment of conditioned anxiety reactions associated with aversive medical procedures.