The Effects of Pemoline on Performance and Mood during Sleep Deprivation

A number of previous studies have administered stimulants to try to improve various aspects of performance and/or mood. Historically, the German armed forces during World War II experimented with various stimulants (e.g., caffeine, phenylmethylamines, and benzedrine) in controlled sleep-deprivation studies (Graf, 1971). Those studies found that subjects experienced decreased fatigue and sleepiness, increased alertness, enhanced imagination, and euphoria. However, they also showed loss of inhibitions and decreased ability to concentrate. Laboratory studies of amphetamines have demonstrated improved performance in fatigued subjects (e.g., Holliday & Devery, 1962; Newhouse, Belenky, Thomas, Thorne, Sing, & Fertig, 1989). Stimulants have been used to try to maintain performance during military operations. U.S. soldiers in Vietnam on reconnaissance patrols requiring long range or sustained activity were sometimes issued methylphenidate (RitalinTM) or dextroamphetamine (Jones, 1985). During the period between 1966 and 1969, the U.S. military consumed more amphetamines than the entire British and American armed forces during World War II (Mendleson, 1985). This trend has continued into the late 1 98Os and the 9Os. Some pilots as well as support crews were reportedly using amphetamines to maintain alertness and performance during combat and support missions in both the Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations (Emonson & Vanderbeek, 1995).