Can a Computer Test Stand In for Highway Driving After a Benzodiazepine?
A computer task and a highway drive can both show a drug effect while measuring different skills. Jongen and colleagues compared them in a crossover study involving 23 healthy volunteers.
What the volunteers did
Participants received placebo, one of two oxazepam doses or diazepam at separate visits. They completed computerized tests two and six hours after dosing and drove in highway traffic four to five hours after dosing. Average variability in lateral position increased by 1.83 cm after 10 mg of oxazepam, 3.03 cm after 10 mg of diazepam and 7.57 cm after 30 mg of oxazepam, compared with placebo.
What the computer results could predict
Only three of eight cognitive tests had modest correlations with changes in the lane-position measure. The tests also occurred at different times after dosing. A laboratory result can describe performance on that task at that time. In an individual driving case, the drug timeline and the driving observations address questions a computer task alone cannot resolve.
