Systematic review reveals benzodiazepines lower peak velocity and affect latency in saccadic eye movements, suggesting GABA modulation's implications in pharmacological research.
= 187). We found a robust and large effect on peak velocity (standardised mean change (SMCC)) = -1.064, 95% CI (confidence intervals) [-1.287, -0.84]), a less consistent, medium sized effect on latency (SMCC = 0.706, 95% CI [0.285, 1.127]), and a medium sized, but non-significant, effect on gain (SMCC = -0.581, 95% CI [-1.226, 0.064]). These findings confirm the sensitivity of saccadic eye movements to modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) through benzodiazepines and point to the peak velocity in particular as a biomarker for sedative effects in pharmacological research in healthy adults.
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Schmidt et al. (2026) studied this question.
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