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EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF MEPROBAMATE ON NORMAL SUBJECTS
Author(s) -
Marquis Donald G.,
Kelly E. Lowell,
Miller James G.,
Gerard Ralph W.,
Rapoport Anatol
Publication year - 1957
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1957.tb46007.x
Subject(s) - miller , meprobamate , library science , classics , art history , history , medicine , computer science , geology , paleontology , anesthesia
With the increasing use of meprobamate, it is important to know its effects on the behavior of relatively normal subjects, on persons who take the drug without discontinuing their usual activities. We need detailed information about the effects of the drug on those common but complex acts in which most people engage as part of their daily lives. One of these activities-potentially dangerous if not properly carried out-is driving an automobile. How does meprobamate affect the motor skills, the sensory processes, and the judgment necessary for safe driving? Does meprobamate in usual doses, alone or in combination with a martini or a drink of whiskey, make it likely that a driver will endanger his own life or the lives of others? The answers to these and related questions have become increasingly important in view of the rapid changes occurring in our modern world. Although some information on these issues can be obtained from general observation and from subjective reports, our knowledge about the drug’s effects will be much sounder if the data are obtained under standardized and controlled conditions. Our research, including studies of reaction time, driving skills, steadiness, and visual performance, was designed to accomplish this.