Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:828-830
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
A comparison of cognitive impairment due to benzodiazepines and to narcotics
N Hendler, C Cimini, T Ma and D Long
In an attempt to determine the source of cognitive impairment in 106
consecutively admitted patients at the Johns Hopkins Chronic Pain Treatment
Center, EEG, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Memory Quotient, and
Bender Gestalt tests were administered. Patients receiving benzodiazepines
alone demonstrated alterations in cognitive functioning and EEG evidence of
a sedative effect. Patients receiving narcotics alone and a group of
patients not receiving medication did not show signs of cognitive
impairment. The effects of benzodiazepines on sleep and perception of
chronic pain, in combination with the cortical changes that they produce,
imply that these drugs should not be used in most patients with chronic
pain.
