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Etude psychométrique des effets de l'amobarbital (amytal) et de la chlorpromazine sur des sujets normaux

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Summary

The authors sought to develop knowledge of the characteristics of different types of psycholeptic drugs. Using 18 normal voluntary subjects, and psychometric methods, the authors experimentally compared the effects of the following: a dose of 100 mg of chlorpromazine (neuroleptic), a dose of 300 mg of amobarbital (hypnotic) and a placebo.

The psychophysiological measures and intelligence tests showed that with the 2 drugs there was a particulary noticeable deficit in the most elementary of sensori-motor functions but only a negligible deficit of intellectual functions. On the other hand with the personality test used (MMPI), it was found that chlorpromazine had practically no effect whereas amobarbital brought about limited but distinct changes in the profile and particularly on the Ma, Sc and Mf scales. It is not possible to interpret precisely such modifications in the responses of subjects asked to describe their feelings and behaviour.

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Delay, J., Pichot, P., Nicolas-Charles, P. et al. Etude psychométrique des effets de l'amobarbital (amytal) et de la chlorpromazine sur des sujets normaux. Psychopharmacologia 1, 48–58 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00408111

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00408111

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