Summary
The effects of a CNS-stimulant, CNS-depressant, and placebo on CFF thresholds of 24 subjects were determined using a flicker-fusion test based on the psychophysical method of limits. Four conditions, 10 mg of d-amphetamine, 65 mg of phenobarbital, inert placebo, and no-drug, were applied in a repeated measures design under double-blind conditions. Each session lasted three hours. Pulse was taken concurrent with CFF, and an adjective checklist of subjective feeling was administered at the end of each session.
Both CFF and mood checklist were sensitive to phenobarbital. Pulse differences appeared only under d-amphetamine. Longer test sessions, more frequent testing or more subjects seemed advisable for future work. The method of CFF measurement used, most amenable to the aforementioned extensions, appeared at least as sensitive as the more complex techniques previously employed.
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This investigation was supported by the Warner-Lambert Research Institute, Morris Plains, New Jersey. We would like to thank Dr. Jerry Weisberg, of Warner-Lambert, for his advice regarding the medical aspects of the study, and Dr. John Walsh, of Fordham University, for his extensive assistance in the analysis of the data.
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Misiak, H., Rizy, E.F. The effects of dextroamphetamine and phenobarbital on a simplified standardized CFF measure. Psychopharmacologia 13, 346–353 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414346
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414346