Effects of clorazepate, diazepam, lorazepam, and placebo on human memory

Healthy adults (N = 10) were given oral doses of lorazepam (1 and 2 mg), diazepam (5 and 10 mg), clorazepate (7.5 and 15 mg), or placebo and tested 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes later on a word-recall memory task. All subjects received each drug dose once and placebo twice in randomized order at weekly intervals. Testing was double-blind. Lorazepam was found to have a significantly greater effect on memory than placebo. Diazepam and clorazepate did not differ significantly from placebo in their effect on word recall. High doses of lorazepam produced more pronounced memory effects than did low doses; neither diazepam nor clorazepate was found to exert a dose-related effect on memory.