Date of Award

1-1-1991

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The effect of treatment with DDAVP, a vasopressin analogue, on arousal, short-term memory (STM), and the comprehension and recall of expository and narrative prose passages was examined. Poor and good readers were randomly assigned to one of three groups: no treatment, placebo, or DDAVP. The digit span and reading span tests were used as measures of STM. Blood pressure and heart rate were used as measures of physiological arousal. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List were used as measures of self-reported arousal. The passages were presented one idea unit at a time on an Apple computer screen. The computer recoded the amount of time required to read each idea unit. Immediately, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after reading the passages, subjects were asked to recall what they read.Intranasal treatment with 60 micrograms of DDAVP did not influence scores on the measures of STM or arousal. Treatment with DDAVP did not influence reading times. When compared to treatment with placebo, treatment with DDAVP facilitated the recall of narrative but not expository passages. There was an interaction between the level of importance of idea units, reading ability, and treatment. Treatment with DDAVP facilitated the recall of idea units of low and medium importance in poor readers and facilitated the recall of idea units of medium and high importance in good readers. Also, treatment with DDAVP facilitated the recall of idea units at immediate recall in poor readers and facilitated recall of idea units at 60 minute recall in good readers. These results were interpreted to suggest that verbal ability is an important factor to consider when testing the effects of DDAVP on memory processes.The recall of subjects not treated with placebo or DDAVP was inconsistent with the recall of subjects treated with placebo or DDAVP. Different instructions given to subjects who were not treated with placebo or DDAVP may have altered their expectations and recall. The balanced placebo design was proposed as a method to directly evaluate drug effects, expectancy effects, and their interaction when testing the effects of DDAVP on memory processes.

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