Selective effects of barbiturate and amphetamine on information processing and response execution.

In a 3 X 2 X 2 factoral experiment, 12 subjects carried out a choice reaction task with reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) as response measures. Independent variables were drug treatment (amphetamine, barbiturate, placebo), visual stimulus degradation and S-R compatibility. Visual stimulus degradation and S-R compatibility showed additive effect on the RT, but did not affect the MT. This confirms that stimulus encoding, response selection and response execution represent independent processing stages. The two drugs had selective effects on the RT and the MT. Barbiturate (as compared to placebo) had no effect on the MT, but it lengthened the RT, and this effect was additive with the effects of S-R compatibility but showed an interaction with the effects of stimulus degradation. Amphetamine (as compared to placebo) shortened the MT, but there was no significant main effect of amphetamine on the RT although the interaction with the effect of S-R compatibility was significant. These results suggest that barbiturate affects stimulus encoding whereas amphetamine affects response-related processes..