Effect of beta-blockers on psychomotor performance in normal volunteers

The effects of beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists on psychometric tests including vehicle handling, choice reaction time, and kinetic visual acuity (KVA), are reviewed. The beta-blockers had little effect on the performance tests, with the unexplained but reproducible effect of enhanced KVA performance with atenolol. Although the beta-blockers had little effect on performance tests they were shown to have psychotropic effects in normal volunteers. The reasons for the conflicting evidence concerning the effect of these drugs on performance tests is discussed in relation to the present experiments and to variables that may influence response. It is concluded that one should use tests that are as independent as possible from potentially confounding variables. The use of evoked potentials in the electroencephalogram is one such test. A preliminary study is described in which the effects of beta-blockers were detected using visual evoked responses on the electroencephalogram.