Diazepam, behavior, and aging: increased sensitivity or lower baseline performance?

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Abstract
Cognitive performance, psychomotor skills, and subjective reactions to diazepam and placebo were compared in 12 healthy, well-educated subjects in three age groups: 19–28, 40–45, and 61–73 years old. With only minor exceptions, the changes in performance caused by diazepam and age differences were statistically additive and non-interacting. Diazepam did not act synergistically in older individuals; the decrements in performance were about the same in all age groups. Baseline performance decreased with increasing age; middle-aged subjects performed more like older than younger subjects. A variety of tasks exhibited similar effects of aging and diazepam, i.e., when performance declined with increasing age, it was also reduced by diazepam.