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45 subjects aged over 65 years were randomly assigned to treatment with lormetazepam 0.5 mg or 1 mg or placebo. Mood and performance were measured with a battery of computerized tests. Subjects were tested before and after 1 and 8 nights of treatment. Pre- and post-treatment scores were analysed by a multivariate covariance technique, the pre-treatment score serving as covariate. The single and repeated doses of lormetazepam resulted in impairment of performance in a memory task, and the repeated dose administration impaired performance of a perceptual task. The single administration of a low dose gave an improvement in fine motor control. No change was found in the mood states of the subjects.

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Extensive research has shown that the phasic pupil size (peak level on each trial) is a sensitive measure of the degree of mental effort demanded by a task. In the present study, the validity of the pupil response as an index of mental effort in suboptimal conditions was investigated. Thirteen males (19-29 years) performed a memory and display-search task in a practice session, followed in random order by an oxazepam session, a placebo session, a physical exercise session, and a control session. After both oxazepam and physical exercise, decision times increased, but pupil response increased only after physical exercise. This result was explained by the possibility that under physical fatigue, compensatory effort was exerted, whereas under drug-induced fatigue, subjects seemed unable to compensate for the performance decrement. The pupil response appears to be a valuable tool for gaining more insight into different effects of suboptimal states.Resume Une recherche exhaustive a rev616 que la dimension sinusale de la pupille (le niveau le plus eleve de chaque essai) est une mesure sensible du degre' d'effort mental exige par une tache. Cette etude analyse la validite de la reponse de la pupille comme indice d'effort mental dans des conditions sous-opti males. Treize hommes de 19 a 29 ans ont execut6 un test de memoire et un test affichage/recherche au cours d'une seance pratique, suivie au hasard d'une seance oxazepan, d'une seance placebo, d'une stance d'exercice physique et d'une seance de controle. Apres la sfiance oxazepan et la seance d'exercice physique combinees, les temps de decision avaient augmente, mais la reponse de la pupille augmenta seulement apres 1'exercice physique. Ce r£sultat a etc explique par la possibility que sous l'effet de la fatigue physique, un effort compensatoire pouvait s'exercer, alors que sous l'effet d'une fatigue d'origine medicamenteuse, les sujets semblaient incapables de compenser leur baisse de performance. La reponse de la pupille semble etre un outil valable pour mieux connaftre les differents effets des 6tats sous-optimaux.

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