Misc How does ambien amnesia work?

[Slow_Mobius]

Just a fair warning, ambien (zolpidem) can make insomnia worse in the long run. It's a fantastic drug to use a couple times a week or less for when you really need to sleep, but you can develop a dependence quickly that could ultimately exacerbate your insomnia.

As for your question about doing crazy stuff:

Imagine the time when your judgment was most impaired from drinking. Now take that to an entirely new level with some hallucinations. After taking too much ambien and not going straight to sleep, you might legitamately believe that your closet is a monster that will take over the galaxy if you don't stop it.

But some people have no problem tolerating it for extended periods of time. Just figure out how it works for you

 

[Memantine]

How does ambien compare to other benzodiazepine hypnotics in terms of recreation?

Since ambien is one of the most selective α1 GABA-A agonists at the moment I would expect it to give some euphoria. Is this true?

 

[MrRoot]

Atleast in order for me to feel euphoria in the past with Ambien included taking amounts which at the same moment were a bit psychedelics. 10mg worked like taking 2mg clonazepam in terms of effects but after +30mg there was euphoria from it and it felt a bit weird compared to opiate euphoria as instead of just lying there you got euphoria by doing stuff no matter how stupid it was.

It is like your brains reward you for every action taken which of course may lead to you do stupid things while on it. Also amnesia seems different as you easily remember parts of what you have done instead of benzo amnesia which for me is unpenetratable.

 

[BigG]

I DID used to know exactly how Ambien amnesia worked....

But then I took an Ambien......

And I forgot.....

 

[Solipsis]

Amnesia happens because of the functional state of the inhibitory GABAergic system.

The inhibition ('off-switching') from the GABAergic system affects the function of the excitatory ('on-switching') glutamatergic system like that of NMDA channels.
Those NMDA channels (which are by the way also the target of drugs like ketamine) play a major role in cognition, learning and long-term memory. If the excitatory system is compromised by heavy GABAergic activity, cognition and memory can at some point also be affected, and no long term memory is that (anterograde iirc?) amnesia Ambien can cause.

Ambien is pretty selective for hypnotic (sleep inducing) action. Presumably there is a difference in chance of getting amnesia depending on exactly what GABAergic drug you take and what it does. Some GABAergic drugs are notorious for amnestic holes while others not so much.

I think different GABA receptor subtypes are involved with different functions (some sleep, others anxiety, or muscle tension) and those are associated with varying excitatory functions. So I think that is how the side effects correspond with the action of the drug: it depends on the targeted inhibitory function specifically, and its associated excitatory functions.