HALOPERIDOL-INDUCED MOOD AND RETRIEVAL OF HAPPY AND UNHAPPY MEMORIES

The present study investigated the effect of haloperidol-induced mood in normal healthy male volunteers on the retrieval of memories of real -life personal experiences using a between-subjects double-blind desig n. Forty subjects were required to retrieve past real life.experiences associated with a series of stimulus words following administration o f a single oral dose of 5mg haloperidol or placebo. The experiences we re subsequently rated by subjects for their happiness felt at the time of the original experience. A significant decline in self-reported he donic tone was observed in subjects given haloperidol. In addition, su bjects on placebo recalled a significantly greater percentage of happy memories than subjects who were on haloperidol; a trend for a reverse pattern was observed for unhappy memories. The effects of the drug on the retrieval of memories were only in part mediated by the decline i n hedonic tone scores. The effects of haloperidol are interpreted in t erms of drug-induced dysphoria.