Drug Effects upon Data Processing as Functions of Storage and Retrieval Parameters
Paul M. Hurst, Robert Radlow, Sallyann K. Bagley · Ergonomics · 1970
A series of experiments was performed to investigate the effects of various stimulant and depressant drugs upon performance under task-induced stress. The first four experiments, each of which included d-amphetamine in one or more dosage, are summarized. This compound was generally the most facilitative of all the drugs tested, but in the fourth experiment reversed its enhancement effect. The fifth experiment, presented in detail, was performed to isolate the crucial task parameters which determine whether d-.amphetamine enhances performance or impairs it. To assess further the relationship between mood and performance effects, sodium amylobarbitono was also given, either alone or in combination with d-amphetamine. Results indicated that the enhancement reversal under amphetamine was specific to high input rates, rather than a function of difficulty per se or of other alternative mechanisms. Amylobarbitono given separately was closely comparable to placebo. When combined with rf-amphetamine, it yielded results not significantly different from those of d-amphetamine given by itself, both with performance and with mood ratings. The latter were at variance with published results, and precluded one additional tost of the relationship between mood effects and performance under stress.