Effects of Terfenadine and Diphenhydramine on Brain Activity and Performance in a UH-60 Flight Simulator.

摘要

The effects of terfenadine, diphenhydramine, and a placebo on flight performance, resting electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, and auditory and visual evoked potential tasks were investigated. Twelve male Army aviators served as subjects in a double-blind, repeated measures experimental design. The results indicated that neither diphenhydramine nor terfenadine effected flight performance. Regarding resting EEG, diphenhydramine caused a decrease of alpha power at all electrode sites. For all sites with the exception of Cz, diphenhydramine also caused a decrease of power in the beta band. The P300 component-of the auditory evoked potential was unaffected by either of the drugs. The amplitude of the visual P300 was suppressed under diphenhydramine relative to placebo while the latency was unaffected. The results of this study highlight the importance of measuring multiple aspects of performance in assessing the impact of a drug. While flight performance was unaffected by either drug, the indications from measures of brain activity are that terfenadine is much less sedating. Therefore, it is a more attractive alternative for the treatment of allergic symptoms in the aviator population or in any population where compromised performance is potentially dangerous.