Abstract
Rationale: Placebo-controlled studies show that midazolam impairs explicit memory in children undergoing surgery (Buffett-Jerrott et al., Psychopharmacology 168:377-386, 2003; Kain et al., Anesthesiology 93:676-684, 2000). A recent within-subjects study showed that midazolam impaired explicit memory while leaving implicit memory intact in a sample of older children undergoing painful medical procedures (Pringle et al., Health Psychol 22:263-269, 2003). Objectives: We attempted to replicate and extend these findings in a randomized, placebo-controlled design with younger children undergoing surgery. Materials and methods: Children aged 3-6 years who were undergoing ear tube (myringotomy) surgery were randomly assigned to receive midazolam (n=12) or placebo (n=11). After surgery, they were tested on explicit (recognition) and implicit (priming) memory for pictures encoded before surgery. Results: Relative to placebo, the midazolam-treated children showed poorer recognition memory on the explicit task but equivalent priming on the implicit task. Conclusions: Overall, it appears that midazolam induces a dissociation between explicit and implicit memory in young children in the pediatric surgery setting. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed along with directions for future research.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 489-497 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 188 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements This research was supported by a category A grant from the IWK Health Center Research Foundation. We wish to acknowledge the support and cooperation of the surgeons of the Division of Otolaryngology and of the nursing staff in the Day Surgery Unit, Operating Room, and Recovery Room of the IWK Health Center. We also wish to thank the many students and research assistants who helped out in various ways with this project including Allison Eisner, Alyson Currie, Katina Garduno, Courtney Maloney, and Katie McGuire. The assistance of Dr. W. Joseph MacInnes in programming our computer tasks is also gratefully acknowledged. Dr. Stewart is supported by an investigator award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and by a Killam research professorship from the Dalhousie University Faculty of Science. Dr. Finley was a Dalhousie University clinical research scholar, and Ms. Wright was supported by a doctoral fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research at the time this research was conducted.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Pharmacology
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't