Editing Benzodiazepine (section)

===Cognitive effects===
The short-term use of benzodiazepines adversely affects multiple areas of cognition, the most notable one being that it interferes with the formation and consolidation of memories of new material and may induce complete [[anterograde amnesia]].<ref name="isbn0-683-30128-4" /> However, researchers hold contrary opinions regarding the effects of long-term administration. One view is that many of the short-term effects continue into the long-term and may even worsen, and are not resolved after stopping benzodiazepine usage. Another view maintains that cognitive deficits in chronic benzodiazepine users occur only for a short period after the dose, or that the anxiety disorder is the cause of these deficits.

While the definitive studies are lacking, the former view received support from a 2004 meta-analysis of 13 small studies.<ref name="pmid15762814">{{cite journal | vauthors = Stewart SA | title = The effects of benzodiazepines on cognition | journal = The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry | volume = 66 | issue = Suppl 2 | pages = 9–13 | year = 2005 | pmid = 15762814 | url = http://psychiatrist.com/supplenet/v66s02/v66s0202.pdf | access-date = 14 June 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051213232324/http://psychiatrist.com/supplenet/v66s02/v66s0202.pdf | archive-date = 13 December 2005 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="pmid14731058">{{cite journal | vauthors = Barker MJ, Greenwood KM, Jackson M, Crowe SF | title = Cognitive effects of long-term benzodiazepine use: a meta-analysis | journal = CNS Drugs | volume = 18 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–48 | year = 2004 | pmid = 14731058 | doi = 10.2165/00023210-200418010-00004 | s2cid = 15340907 }}</ref> This meta-analysis found that long-term use of benzodiazepines was associated with moderate to large adverse effects on all areas of cognition, with [[Spatial visualization ability|visuospatial]] memory being the most commonly detected impairment. Some of the other impairments reported were decreased IQ, visiomotor coordination, information processing, verbal learning and concentration. The authors of the meta-analysis<ref name="pmid14731058" /> and a later reviewer<ref name="pmid15762814" /> noted that the applicability of this meta-analysis is limited because the subjects were taken mostly from withdrawal clinics; the coexisting drug, alcohol use, and psychiatric disorders were not defined; and several of the included studies conducted the cognitive measurements during the withdrawal period.