The acute effects of tandospirone, a new anxiolytic agent, on actual driving performance were investigated in 12 healthy male subjects according to a double blind, cross-over design. Drug treatments were tandospirone 30mg, diazepam 5mg and placebo. The time of administration was 30 minutes prior to beginning of the driving test. Subjects were instructed to drive continuously for two hours at a speed of 60 kilometers an hour. Eye movement, steering wheel operation, speed variability and the Stanford Sleepiness Scale were continuously measured during driving. Diazepam significantly increased the frequency of long closure duration blinks and large steering reversals, the variability of driving speed and the Stanford Sleepiness Scale in comparison with tandospirone and placebo. These findings suggest a dangerous tendency to fall asleep during driving for the drivers administered diazepam. On the other hand, on all measurement items there was no difference between tandospirone and placebo. So it is concluded that tandospirone does not indicate the central nervous system depressant action and does not impair driving performance. (A)
Abstract