British journal of clinical pharmacology
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Br J Clin Pharmacol · Jan 1984
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialPencil and paper tests--sensitivity to psychotropic drugs.
The literature on pencil and paper tests and the effects of psychotropic drugs is reviewed. Performance at digit symbol substitution, symbol copying, letter cancellation, arithmetic, logic and cognitive processing with a relatively constant level of triazolam was compared with placebo. ⋯ Pencil and paper tests which measure various skills are useful for detecting drug effects. Letter cancellation, arithmetic and DSST appear to be most sensitive, although logic and symbol copying may be useful.