FLUMAZENIL AND SACCADIC EYE-MOVEMENTS IN PATIENTS WITH PANIC DISORDER AND NORMAL CONTROLS

The effects of the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil on saccadic eye movements were studied in patients with panic disorder and in controls. Compared with vehicle, flumazenil displayed slight partial agonist effects in that it significantly reduced peak deceleration of eye movements, with a similar but non-significant trend for peak velocity, in both groups. In controls flumazenil had little in the way of subjective effects whereas in panic patients it produced marked anxiety. The paradoxical responses to flumazenil in panic disorder (partial agonist effects on saccadic eye movements but partial inverse agonist effects on mood) may be due to different receptor subtypes controlling these variables.